Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “What the world needs now”   Our Bible verse for today: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Come to me…”   In our sanctuary at Oak Hill Baptist Church, high up in the middle of the center wall, directly behind the pulpit, there is a beautiful stained-glass window with a picture of Jesus with His arms wide open and an inviting look on His face. Below that image are the words from Matthew 11:28, “Come to me…”   The wall that window is on faces east and so during the Sunday morning service, as the sun is high in the eastern sky, it shines right through that window lighting it up. We also have a light behind the window that we keep illuminated. The sunshine and the light together cause the image of Jesus to glow. At the end of each sermon, during the time of invitation, as people are walking up the center aisle towards the front, they are approaching this glowing Jesus with His arms wide open to receive them. “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”   This morning, we will continue our thinking from the past couple of days about the fact that people all around us are struggling with life issues that are heavy and hard. People are weary and life is weighing them down. Every person you meet has something going on in his or her life that they wish wasn’t there and with which they are struggling. But Jesus wants to give them rest. He wants to help them carry those burdens and to deal more effectively with the issues of life.   In the last part of that passage Jesus used the illustration of a pair of oxen yoked together and plowing a field. In every team of oxen there is a lead ox, which is bigger, stronger, and more experienced, and there is a follower ox. The lead ox carries most of the burden and provides all the direction. The follower ox stays next to the lead ox, helps to carry some of the load, and learns from the lead ox. In this illustration Jesus was saying, “Let me be your lead ox. Yoke yourself to Me. Stay close to Me. We will do this together. I will carry most of the load and I will provide all the direction. You just stay close to Me and we will walk through life together.”   The people you encounter today need to be made aware of this invitation from Jesus. I encourage you to invite them to Easter Sunday worship service at your church so they can hear the Good News, (see the image of that stained-glass window if they come to Oak Hill Baptist), and find the rest and renewal their souls are so desperately longing for.   Jesus is calling, “Come to me…”   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 © 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: “What the world needs now”   Our Bible verse for today: “I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” Jeremiah 31:25 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “Rest for a weary soul”   Easter week is about the love of the Father expressed to us through the gift of Jesus. Jesus gave His life for ours to pay the penalty for our sins. Then He rose from the grave defeating death and thereby making it possible for us to have eternal life in heaven. That’s the Good News that we have to share with others. It’s all about God’s great love for us.   But that’s a spiritual truth expressed in spiritual words. People are physical beings living in the physical world. That being the case, people relate most easily to physical realities. That’s why one of the most effective means of reaching people for Jesus is to meet their physical needs first. There is a truism that applies. It goes like this, “They won’t care how much we know until they know how much we care.” Meet their physical needs first and then they will be much more open to hearing the spiritual truth we have to share.   This morning, I want to continue our thinking from yesterday about the fact that every person you meet today will be struggling with something that they wish was not in their life, and every person needs Jesus to heal their deepest hurts.   I love the picture Jeremiah paints in the verse above – God refreshes the weary and He strengthens the weak. People all around us need this. They are weary and weak, struggling with life issues and living out of hurting hearts. People need what Jesus has to offer.   Ultimately, receiving what Jesus wants to give will have eternal consequences because the person will spend eternity in heaven instead of hell. But first, Jesus will meet them where they are in the physical world. In this case, rest for the weary and strength for the weak. Jeremiah was talking about refreshing the soul and strengthening the resolve as a means of revitalizing the body and giving the person the will and the ability to go on in life with renewed vigor. (Remember our lesson from a previous devotional in this series – we are body, mind, and spirit. All are interrelated and each impacts the other. Refresh the spirit and the body will experience the benefit too.)   This is an important understanding when we’re attempting to reach people for Jesus. We must meet them where they are and minister to them in ways that make an immediate difference. People all around you are weary and burdened deep down in their soul. Life feels heavy and hard. But Jesus will meet them at the deepest point of that need and give them rest for their weary souls.   As you are inviting people to church this Sunday to celebrate Easter, consider telling them about the rest and renewal they will find for their weary souls as they encounter and worship the Risen Savior.   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 © 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: “What the world needs now”   Our Bible verse for today: “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Everyone is struggling with something”   Romans 8:28 is true and everyone you will meet today needs to know it is true. Everyone is struggling with something. God can and will reach into the middle of those struggles and bring good things out of the trials for those who love Him.   Those of you who are familiar with my personal story know that these last few years have been very difficult for me. My wife, son, and daughter all died (at different times and from different causes, but all within a short period of time). In the middle of that, I was attacked by a pit bull. The dog charged, lunged at me, knocked me over into a ditch on the side of the road, bit me up a little, then climbed over me to get to my dog. It ripped her stomach open and killed her right there in front of me.   These years have been hard. But through it all I learned, grew, and, I have come out of it stronger. Recently, in my studies about trauma and grief I came across a term I had been unfamiliar with: Post-Traumatic Growth, or PTG. Here’s what that is: “PTG refers to the phenomenon of major crises and traumatic events having a positive psychological effect on those who experience them. PTG doesn’t deny deep distress, but rather posits that adversity can unintentionally yield changes in understanding oneself, others, and the world. Post-Traumatic Growth results in recognizing and embracing new opportunities; forging stronger relationships with loved ones; cultivating inner strength through the knowledge of having overcome tremendous hardship; gaining a deeper satisfaction in life; and discovering new depths of faith and spirituality.”   When I read that psychological definition of PTG my first thought was, “They stole that from the Bible! That’s just Romans 8:28! That’s God reaching into a bad situation and bringing good things out of it!” That then caused me to reflect and realize that I’m hardly the only one who has gone through or is going through a dark valley on this journey through life. And I’m not the only one for whom Romans 8:28 is true.   The fact is that every person you meet today will have at least one thing going on in their life that they wish wasn’t there and which is causing them pain and heartache. And every person you meet today needs Jesus to reach into their bad situation and bring good things out of it for them.   When it comes to sharing the love of Jesus with those around you, this is a crucial understanding. That person in front of you is hurting in some manner. Jesus wants to heal that hurt and He will use you to help do that. I encourage you to look for opportunities today to help people discover the healing power Jesus wants to bring into their lives.   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 © 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: “What the world needs now”   Our Bible verse for today: “He has also placed eternity in their hearts.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “They want what you have”   This morning, I want to share with you a very important truth that I also addressed in my sermon at Oak Hill Baptist Church last Sunday (4/6/25) (www.youtube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville). It is this: You have spiritual truth to share that the other person’s heart is longing for. Even if you don’t realize it; even if they don’t realize it; and even if it doesn’t appear to be true; the heart of every person you meet today is longing to know God. The reason that is true is because that’s the way God created the human heart. That’s the great spiritual truth Solomon revealed to us in Ecclesiastes 3:11 – God has created the human heart with an inherent awareness that there is a God and we do want to know Him.   That’s why every culture that has ever existed in the history of the human-race has had a belief in the supernatural and in an afterlife, and it is why all cultures have created gods for themselves and they have worshiped those gods. It’s because God has created the human heart with a desire to know Him. Deep in the human heart there is a longing for God.   The great theologian Saint Augustine wrote, “You have created us for yourself, oh God, and our hearts are restless, searching, until we find our rest in you.” The French philosopher Blaise Pascal observed, “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of man that can only be filled by God.” Those statements are true of every person you will encounter today even if they don’t know it, or if they deny it, and even if they refuse to accept it.   People try to soothe that ache in their heart and to fill the empty place with all sorts of things including other gods, and drugs or alcohol, or accomplishments and possessions, but really what their heart is longing for is God.   My friend, deep down in their heart that other person wants what you have. You know Jesus and you can share Him with them. Start by showing them the love of Jesus, then you can tell them the truth about Jesus.   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 © 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: “What the world needs now”   Our Bible verse for today: “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Let your light shine”   Okay, come on, sing it with me:   “This little light of mine, Oh, I’m gonna let it shine; This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine; let it shine, all the time, let it shine … Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine. Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, all the time, let it shine …”   There’s a lot of profound Biblical truth contained in that simple children’s nursey rhyme/song. Jesus calls us to shine the light of His love into the dark places of our world. We are to do so intentionally and with confidence.   You are probably familiar with the old illustration regarding Carlsbad Caverns and the power of a little light. I’m told that if you descend deep into the bowels of the Caverns you arrive at a spacious area where your group assembles and then the guide turns out the lights. The darkness is so thick and so deep that it is total – you literally cannot see your hand in front of your face. For some people it feels suffocating and they could begin to panic. Then the guide turns on a small flashlight and suddenly you can see. Even in that vast cavern, the light from that little flashlight is enough to chase away the darkness.   That’s a beautiful illustration of the power of spiritual light too, and it’s what both Jesus and the song were referring too. Even a little of the light of Jesus chases away a whole lot of the darkness created by Satan. When you, the follower of Jesus, walk into any spiritually dark situation and you shine the light of Jesus’ love, the darkness recedes. It might not be entirely dispelled, but it will at least shrink way back.   Christian, you have the light of Jesus within you and you bring that light with you everywhere you go. I encourage you to be intentional about shining the light of Jesus’ love into the situations you find yourself in today.   And I know, I know, now you’re going to have that tune stuck in your head all day. Sorry. (Not sorry). Lol.   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 © 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: “What the world needs now”   Our Bible verse for today: “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” John 15:14 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Are you a friend of Jesus?”   Jesus calls us to love people on purpose. He teaches that He wants to live His life through us, producing His fruit in the world through us, and the first fruit of His Spirit is “love.” You have been chosen for this purpose – to be a conduit through which the love of Jesus flows to the world.   But you must cooperate with Jesus. He won’t force you to do this. He won’t use you as His instrument of ministry if you don’t want to be used by Him like that. You will have to decide you will do it and then follow that decision with intentional action. Remember, love is a verb. It’s an action word. Jesus calls us to love people with our will and with our words and with our actions, whether we have feelings of love for them or not.   Doing this isn’t easy. It requires us to be intentionally obedient to His command. But if you will, then there’s a gift Jesus wants to give you – His friendship. That’s what He taught in John 15:14. If you do what He has been teaching (what He has commanded), then He moves you from the category of servant and into the realm of friendship.   But please note, that friendship with Jesus is not automatic. It’s evidently not something that every professing Christian automatically gets. Clearly, Jesus has reserved that special relationship for those who are all-in and who truly are on-mission with Him in this world helping to spread His love and to build the kingdom of God on earth. Personally, I think of Jesus as my Lord and I think of myself as His disciple and servant. But He thinks of me as His friend.   I want to ask you this morning, “Are you all-in? Are you truly and fully on-mission with Jesus to share His love with the world? If you are, then Jesus calls you “friend.”   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 © 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: “What the world needs now”   Our Bible verse for today: “You did not choose me, but I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask in my Father’s name, he will give you.” John 15:16-17 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “You have been chosen for this”   This morning, I want to briefly return us to two metaphors that have been used in previous devotionals in this series and which serve to illustrate how we should be helping to spread the love of Jesus in our world. The first appeared on April 3rd and was about the snow machine (Cover them in God’s Love). The second was on April 7th and it was the branches and the vine illustration (This is how you love them on purpose). If you don’t remember those illustrations, please go back and reread them because they each teach an important lesson about how we, the followers of Jesus, are His chosen instruments for spreading His love in our world today.   As a follower of Christ, you have been chosen and commanded to be a conduit for His love to flow through. That has been His point in this entire teaching session so far in John chapter fifteen, and it is the point that He made very directly in verse 16. He chose you and He appointed you to produce His fruit and to spread His love. This is God’s plan for the human-race – the followers of Christ dispensing the love of Christ all around the world.   All over the world there are multiple millions of Christians strategically placed by the Holy Spirit to blanket the world with the love of Jesus (the snowmaking illustration). All over the world there are many millions of Christians strategically placed by the Holy Spirit to offer people the opportunity to taste the sweet love of Jesus (the branches and vine illustration).   You have been chosen for this. You have been strategically placed by the Holy Spirit to be exactly where you are in the world, at this very moment in time, to be the conduit through which the love of Jesus flows to your little part of the world. The question for each of us then is, “Who should be experiencing the love of Jesus today because they were around me?”   Will you do this? Will you make a decision and take an action to share the love of Jesus with someone today? If you will, then Jesus has something very special He wants to give you, and we will consider what that special thing is 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 © 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: “What the world needs now”   Our Bible verse for today: “No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Will you make a sacrifice for love?”   In John 15:13 was Jesus really suggesting that each of us be prepared to die to demonstrate our love for someone? Probably not. He may have been referring to His own death for us, but probably not to us dying for someone else. Like you, there are a few people I would willingly surrender my life for – but not many. That’s the ultimate sacrifice and quite frankly, there are only a precious few who are really that dear to me.   Rather, in this verse Jesus was using the illustration of physical death to teach a general truth about loving. He was talking about an intentional action taken by one person on behalf of another and He was illustrating the importance of being willing to sacrifice for the sake of showing love.   Remember, love is often a decision to act rather than an emotion we feel. We are called to act in love even if we don’t feel love. That could involve things like taking the time to listen to someone who needs to talk; or giving assistance to the elderly widow who needs help with a heavy chore; or giving a financial gift to a person in need; or a thousand other acts like that. Those are all intentional acts that can be taken whether you have feelings of love for the person or not.   I want to redirect our thoughts back to the statement from a previous devotional in this series about the woman who had been brutally raped by a man and who then went to visit him in prison. She told him she was glad he was being punished for what he did but she was also extending forgiveness to him in the name of Jesus. Afterwards she admitted that, “It was the last thing I wanted to do … I was physically sick at the thought of seeing Him … I was repulsed by him … I still hated him … but I knew that what Jesus wanted was my obedience. He wanted me to extend love and forgiveness to that man. He wanted me to love that man with my will and with my words even though in my emotions I couldn’t stand the sight of him.”   (An important point for us to remember in such cases is that a decision to intentionally act in love towards a person – especially a person like that rapist – is not the equivalent of endorsing their bad behavior. We can demonstrate love for them while still holding them accountable for what they did.)   Will you make a sacrifice for love? Love is often a decision to act rather than an emotion you feel. Jesus calls us to love people on purpose, and to even make sacrifices to do so. That’s how He loves the world through you and me. And as we will learn tomorrow, you have been chosen for this very purpose.   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 © 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: “What the world needs now”   Our Bible verse for today: “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.” John 15:5 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “This is how you love them on purpose”   In John chapters thirteen and fourteen we are reading about Jesus and His disciples in the upper room having the Last Supper. While the supper is proceeding, in addition to eating, Jesus is engaged in a long teaching session. It was during this time that He washed the feet of His disciples, and He did it as an example to them that they should serves others as He has served them. This was also when He first told them, in John 13:34-35, that He was giving them a new command – to love others as He loves them.   Chapter fourteen ends with Jesus saying “Get up; let’s leave this place.” At that point they left the upper room and began a long walk towards the Garden of Gethsemane. I believe the route would have taken them past some vineyards on the outskirts of the city. While they were walking under the moonlight, Jesus points to the vines in the vineyard and used them as the illustration in the parable we just read in John 15:5. Just as the branch grows from the vine, and just as the life of the vine flows through the branch producing the fruit of the vine, so too we are branches on Jesus’ vine. His life flows in us and through us, and He produces His fruit through us.   What is the fruit Jesus was referring to and which He wants to produce through our lives? Paul described it for us in Galatians 5:22-23, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Those are attributes of Jesus that He wants the world to experience, and the first of them is love. Now that He is in heaven at the right hand of the Father, the way He shows the world His love is by means of His life flowing in us and through us producing His fruit – the first of which is love.   How do you love others on purpose even if you don’t feel love for them? You let Jesus do it through you. You surrender the situation to Him and you ask Him to love them through you. You pray, “Jesus, I feel no love for this person. But I know this is a person you died for and I know that you love them. Therefore, I offer myself to you as your instrument of ministry into their life. Go ahead and love this person through me.” And then just do whatever you believe He is telling you to do. It will be Jesus loving that person through you.   By-the-way, it was after He taught this parable that He repeated the new command He had given in John 13:34-35. We find that second occurrence in John 15:12, “This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you.”   So, in John 13:34-35 He told us to do it. In John 15:5 He told us how to do it. And then in John 15:12 He told us again to just go do it. That’s how you love them on purpose.   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 © 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: “What the world needs now”   Our Bible verse for today: “This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you.” John 15:12 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “It’s easy to say we love people but …”   It’s easy to say we love people, but Jesus calls us to love them with our actions – in actual practice. Remember, love is a verb. It’s an action word. Rather than being an emotion we feel, love is often expressed as an action that was based on a decision which was born of obedience. That kind of obedient love borne out in action was beautifully illustrated by the example of the woman we learned about in yesterday’s devotional. Just to review: speaking about her ordeal of going to the prison to visit the man who had brutally raped her she said:   It was the last thing in the world that I wanted to do. I was physically sick at the thought of seeing him again. On an emotional level, I was afraid of him; I was repulsed by him; and – I have to be honest – I hated him. But with my husband’s support and with the prayers of many Christian friends, I was able to go to the prison and face him and say what I had to say. My feelings were not the issue. I knew that what God wanted was my obedience. He wanted me to love that man with my will and with my words, even though in my emotions I couldn’t stand the sight of him.”   In John 15:12 Jesus told His early disciples (and us) that we are to love others as He loves us. He was so serious about this that He said it twice in the span of just a couple of hours. He said it first in John 13:34-35 and then, just a little later, recorded here in John 15:12. Why did He say it twice? Because it’s that important. He wants us to love others like He loves us.   With that statement Jesus did what He did on so many other occasions and with so many other Biblical principles – He took an Old Testament precept and He raised it to a new higher standard. In the Old Testament we’re taught not to commit murder. In the New Testament Jesus cautions against even thinking violent thoughts. In the Old Testament we are taught to not commit adultery. In the New Testament Jesus teaches that we should not even have lustful thoughts.   In Leviticus 19:18 we were instructed to love our neighbor as yourself. Here in the New Testament, we’re taught to love others as Jesus loves us. Now the standard by which our love for others gets measured is not by how much love we have for ourselves, but how much love Jesus has for us. And how much is that? It is unlimited. It is unconditional. It is beyond description. Jesus loves you to the moon and back and then even more. But there’s a problem. That is a very high standard – an impossible standard. It’s so high that we cannot achieve it in our own power.   It’s so easy to say that we love people but Jesus calls us to show it with our actions. Fortunately, He helps us to do it. Tomorrow we will see how.   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 © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571