Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Selfcare” Our Bible verse for today: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.” Psalm 23:1-3 (NIV) Our thought for today: “Slow down and relax” I love the way King David began Psalm 23 – with words of rest and restoration. God is his shepherd and the first thing David tells us about his shepherd is that the shepherd leads him to rest. It’s a tranquil picture of calmness and serenity. Actually, the point David makes first, and as a prelude to the part about resting, is that God as the shepherd is also the provider, therefore, “I shall not be in want” and therefore “I can simply lie down in green pastures and rest beside quiet waters as my soul is restored. “In other words, “God has this.” And since He does, David can slow down and he can even stop for a while. Interestingly, in the Bible Jesus is never depicted as being in a hurry. Also, there are no instances of Him urging His disciples or us to be in a hurry either. Instead, as Psalm 23 so beautifully depicts, we are to follow Him, at His pace, and trust that when we are resting, He is still protecting and providing. But this is a tough concept for many of us to believe and embrace. We believe we have so much to do that we can’t stop and we can’t even slow down. Instead, we have to rush to get this thing done so we can then rush to get the next thing done. As author and pastor John Ortberg playfully wrote, many of us act as if the Psalm says, “The Lord is my shepherd, therefore I gotta run faster.” But good shepherds don’t run. They walk and they lead their sheep at a relaxed pace. That’s what Jesus does with us and that’s what David was depicting in the beginning verses of Psalm 23. We need to slow down. We live life at a frantic pace that isn’t good for us – or for those around us. Instead, we need to be intentional about choosing a simpler, slower, unhurried life that nourishes our soul rather than drains it, and which allows us to fully focus on the things in life that truly matter most. In the days to come, I will share with you some of the very wise insights contained in John Mark Comer’s excellent book, “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.” For now, as written by John Ortberg in the introduction to that book, “Take a deep breath. Put your cell phone away. Let your heart slow down. Let God take care of the world.” 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: “Self-care” 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: “Jesus wants you to rest” Up to this point in this devotional series on selfcare we have dedicated more than a week to the subject of taking a break and getting some rest. It’s because most of us try too hard to do too much for too long and we end up physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually empty. Am I speaking to anyone? Is this hitting home? We live in a society where everyone is busy, busy, busy – many are stressed and on the edge of burnout. I’m not going to get into whether or not you are too busy, but I am going to say that all of us need more time for resting, renewal, and restoration. Just in the Gospel of Mark, Mark records five separate instances when Jesus gathered up His disciples and took them aside to a quiet retreat so they could recharge their batteries and deepen their relationships. In the days to come I intend to focus our attention on three very helpful books that I have personally used in my own life to gain a better perspective and a better balance in this area, and which I believe could prove helpful for you as well. 1. “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” by John Mark Comer. It is all about slowing down, simplifying, and refocusing on the things that matter most in life. 2. “The Rest of God” by Mark Buchanan. “Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath” In this book Mark writes about the value of setting aside that one day of the week for rest and renewal and worship, but also, and even more so, developing a Sabbath mentality that we apply to life in general. This is a mindset that is intentional about carving out time specifically for healing, rest, renewal, and restoration every day. Buchanan counsels us to “Reject that which drains you; embrace that which gives life.” 3. “The Christian at Play” by Robert Johnston. God is playful and He has created us to play. Playing and having fun is God’s idea and we see it among His people all throughout the Bible – times of feasting, fellowship, celebration, play. Johnston writes, “The person at play is expressing his or her God-give nature.” And, “The Christian is called to work; but he is also called to play.” This book is all about developing a personal theology of play. In other words, playing and having fun as a matter of how you practice your faith. Many of us are guilty of trying to do too much for too long and we end up on the edge of burnout. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is to take a nap. We need to be intentional about healing, renewal, and restoration. Jesus wants you to rest. 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: “But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes’, and your ‘no’ mean ‘no’.” Matthew 5:37 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Sometimes you have to say ‘no’”. When it comes to good selfcare sometimes you have to say ‘no’ when the other person wants and expects you to say ‘yes.’ In Matthew 5:37, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was essentially telling us to speak plain truth. Just say what it is. And sometimes, “what it is” is “no.” I remember an incident that occurred to me almost twenty-five years ago. I was the pastor of a church in the California desert. Ministry in those days was demanding and busy. Also, the desert is a brutal climate – hot, barren, dusty, and that can be a hard place to live if you’re not used to it. So as a family, we would periodically drive west over the mountains into San Diego to enjoy a few days at the San Diego Marriot on the bay. It was expensive and we really couldn’t afford it, but we did it anyway because we needed the break from the desert and from the pressures of ministry upon us as a family.  We were in a time when it had been hard to get away. Twice before we had our getaway planned but something came up at the last minute to scuttle it. But this time, we were going to go! I promised Linda and the kids that this time we would not allow anything to derail it. So, we were in the car driving west through the desert. The mountains were in front of us and right on the other side of those mountains, San Diego waited for us and that great hotel room in the Marriot on that beautiful bay. But you can guess what happened. My phone rang. It was an elderly lady in the church. Her husband was terminally ill and had been slowly dying at home for months. I had visited with them in their home multiple times as death was approaching but now, he was close to death and she wanted me to come and sit with them. I explained to her that I was with my family in the car headed for a family getaway that had already been canceled twice and I needed to keep my promise to my family. There was silence for a moment and then she said, “Well, will you please turn around anyway and come and sit with us?” My heart sank and I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I looked at my wife and children and wondered what I should do. And then I heard the words coming out of my mouth, “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. However, I will have one of the deacons come and visit with you.” There was more silence for a moment and then in a cold, flat tone she said, “Okay, that will be fine. Thank you.” And she hung up. Well, the deacon did go over and the man did die that night, and right after the funeral that woman left the church and I never saw her again. I did call her in the weeks afterwards and I asked her to come back to the church but she was cool in her manner as said, “No, I don’t think so. I’ve been attending another church with some friends and I think I’ll continue to do that.” And I never saw her again. That was almost twenty-five years ago and not only do I still remember it, but it still bothers me. I do think I did the right thing because my family needed me to keep my promise to them, but I still wish it would have turned out differently. However, the fact is that you cannot say ‘yes’ to everyone and to everything all the time. Sometimes you have to acknowledge that it’s time to stop and so you have to say “no.” 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: “He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.’ For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.” Mark 6:31 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Sometimes you just have to stop” There’s a lot for us to consider regarding the various aspects of good selfcare, but I am intentionally starting us out with an extended discussion about the importance of giving ourselves permission to take a break. Most of us try too hard for too long to do too much. Remember the Japanese malady known as “Karoshi” which we considered a few days ago. Death from overworking. That problem doesn’t just come from overworking. It can result from any schedule that is too busy for too long. When we are in such a state, we almost always make excuses about being too busy to stop. That’s why we are considering Jesus’ example in Mark 6:30-32. I remember one time when I was leading a medical and dental mission team in a remote Gypsy village in the Transylvania mountains of Central Romania. There was little access to healthcare in that region and as a result, crowds of people had been coming to us all day. They came from the village, they came from distant farms out in the mountains, they came and came and came. Finally, it was late in the afternoon, our team was exhausted, and there was still a big crowd waiting to see a doctor, or to get a tooth pulled, or to receive medicine. But we realized that we couldn’t go on much longer and there was no way we could see everyone. As the crowd began to sense that, they grew increasingly anxious and they began pushing forward towards the door of the clinic trying to get in. They also started getting louder and louder in their protests about not being allowed in. Finally, it was starting to become a mob scene. Now, I love the Gypsy people but they can be a pretty tough crowd, especially when they get riled up – and this situation was getting ugly. My job as the team leader was traffic control and to try to keep things under control. But I was actually beginning to lose control. Finally, a group of big Romanian men, members of the local churches who had been helping us, intervened to get the crowd under control. After a while the crowd dispersed, but I left there that day very dejected – feeling like we had let the people down. In the van as we were driving away, one of the female Romanian doctors who had been working with us sat down next to me and very gently said, “Pastor Jim, please don’t feel bad about this. We did all we could do. There will always be more needs than any one team can possibly meet in a single day.” That was something like the situation Jesus and His disciples were dealing with in this situation. They had done all they could do and now they needed to take a break. And it was okay for them to take a break. It was even necessary for them to take a break because the fact is if you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be able to take care of others. The more drained you get the less effective you will become. You cannot give to others what you yourself don’t have. If your gas tank is empty, or you are running on fumes physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, you won’t have much to give to others. This is about selfcare. It’s essential that we be ministering out of the fullness of our own healthy state of being. You have to take care of yourself so you can take care of others, and sometimes that will mean stopping when there is still more that could be done. 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: “The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they went away in the boat by themselves to a remote place.” Mark 6:30-32 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Give yourself a break.” Mark’s gospel is an action/adventure story. It depicts Jesus and His disciples on the move, going from one place to another, one ministry activity to another, and almost always on the move casting out demons, healing people, preaching and teaching, confronting hypocritical religious professionals, enduring hostility from people in His own hometown, recruiting ministry assistants and training them, and finally, He sends them out on mission trips and they end up doing the same things He has been doing. Action, action, action, doing, doing, doing. Then finally, in the previous passage in chapter six, we read that Jesus received the heartbreaking news that His cousin, John the Baptist, had been imprisoned and then executed. At that Jesus essentially said, “Alright, enough is enough. We need to take a break. Come on you guys, let’s go away for a while and rest.” And please don’t miss the point that the end of verse 31 tells us, “For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.” In other words, it’s not as if Jesus and His disciples had completed all the work there was for them to do and now, as they stood around looking at the emptiness all around them because the crowds had finally dispersed and gone home, Jesus said, “Okay, finally, we’re all done. Let’s get a good meal and some rest.” That wasn’t the case. Not only were the crowds still there, but they were still coming. People were pressing in. They were in need and they were anxious to get help. Maybe they were pushy and a bit demanding. But despite that, Jesus knew His team had done all they could do and they needed to rest. So, even though there was much more that could be done, He pulled them aside, packed up, got in the boat, and sailed away – leaving the crowds standing there. There were five occasions just in the Gospel of Mark when Jesus led His disciples to stop working and go off for a much-needed rest. In each case, there was still more work they could have done. The point is, it’s okay to take a break. Sometimes it gets to the point that it’s imperative we take a break. Jesus did it and so must we. So, please, give yourself a break. 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: “Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree.” 1 Kings 19:5 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Maybe you just need a nap” “All of my worst moments come when I’m tired.” I openly admit it. The more tired I become the more prone I am to getting irritated, or impatient, or flustered. Also, when I’m physically, mentally, emotionally, and especially spiritually drained, that’s when I become most vulnerable to the attacks of Satan. That’s what happened to Elijah. When we last left him, in yesterday’s devotional, he had just experienced a great spiritual victory as he contended with and defeated 450 evil priests of the false god Baal. But in the process, he evidently didn’t take good care of himself and he ended up burned-out. If you follow the story into chapter nineteen you find that after this time of powerful ministry and victory in the face of great opposition, he then turned fearful in the face of threats from one woman, Jezabel, and he ran away to the wilderness and hid in a cave. There we find him whimpering and whining and telling God to just leave him alone and let him die. I can relate and you probably can too. We’ve all had times when we have pushed ourselves too far and too hard for too long and now, you are toast – just plain worn out. Elijah wasn’t sick in his body he was sick in his spirit. Physically he was exhausted, that’s true, but it was his mental, emotional, and spiritual state that had reduced him to this state of meltdown. That’s when the angel of the Lord came, fed him, and made him take a nap. Then, once he was physically nourished and rested, he had an encounter with God that renewed him mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. He then got up, put on his big-boy pants, and went back to work.  Proving once again that sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is to take a nap. There’s an important lesson in this for us. Often, we deceive ourselves into thinking we don’t have time to slow down, we can’t take a break, there’s too much to do. But the truth is there comes a time when we reach the point of diminishing returns. You have peaked and now you are going downhill. And from that point forward the longer you go without giving yourself the time your body, mind, and spirit need to refresh and recharge, the more your returns will be diminished. You will be exerting more and more effort but getting less and less effective. Until finally, you are Elijah curled up in the fetal position in your own version of a cave, whimpering and whining and ineffective. We don’t know who said it first (that has been lost to history), but there’s great truth in the old maxim that sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is to just take a nap. Please take care of yourself. We need you at your best.    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: “Then Elijah became afraid and immediately ran for his life.” 1 Kings 19:3 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Don’t let yourself get burned-out” One of my favorite passages in the Old Testament is found in 1 Kings chapters eighteen and nineteen. In those chapters we read of the time that the prophet Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. There were 450 of them and one of him. They had the false god Baal on their side and Elijah had the One True God on his side. So, it was an unfair fight. The prophets of Baal were vastly outnumbered. That’s because, “One person plus God equals a majority.” If you are on God’s side, and if you are in the center of His will, the odds don’t matter. Elijah challenged them to a contest which would prove which of their Gods was the real God. Each of them would build an altar, pile it high with wood and animal sacrifices, and then they would pray for their god to send fire to ignite the pile and consume the offerings. The prophets of Baal went first. For hours they called out to Baal, pleaded with him, begged him, to send fire and prove himself to be real. But … nothing. Elijah laughed at them and mocked them. He told them to shout louder because maybe Baal was asleep and couldn’t hear them. Finally, they gave up and it was Elijah’s turn. Not only did he build the same kind of altar with the same kinds of offerings, but then he drenched the entire thing in water until it was completely wet to the point that it would be impossible for it to ignite. Then he called on the Lord Jehovah to show himself real and sure enough, instantly, fire came down from heaven like the blast of a divine laser beam and completely consumed not just the offerings, but the entire pile of wood, all the water, and it even reduced the rocks to dust. Then the prophets of Baal were all executed because they were proven to be false prophets. It was a tremendous spiritual victory for Elijah. But it wore him out. By the time it was over he was physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually spent. Drained. Exhausted. His gas tank was empty and he was running on fumes. And friends, that’s a dangerous place for any of us to be. Because when you are physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually empty, you are vulnerable. And that’s exactly what happened to Elijah. He was burned-out. So, what happened to him as a result being burned-out? You can find out in one of three ways. You can open your Bible to 1 Kings chapters 18 and 19 and read the story for yourself (I highly recommend it). Or you can go to the Oak Hill Baptist Church YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville and you can watch the sermon I preached about this on Sunday June 2nd (I recommend this too). Or you can wait until tomorrow when I finish the story in tomorrow’s devotional. Being involved in ministry activities is good. Being active in life in meaningful and productive ways is good. Working hard and earning a living is good. But trying too hard to do too much for too long is not good. You will end up like Elijah, burned out and ineffective. We will finish this story tomorrow. 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: “The first and most important reason” This morning, I want us to consider today’s Bible verse in conjunction with the one we looked at yesterday from 3 John 2. That verse reads: “Dear friend, I pray that you are prospering in every way and are in good health, just as your whole life is going well.” In that verse John was referring to a wholistic approach to life. He prayed for prosperity in “every” way – in the person’s whole life. The truth is that you are a whole person who consists of a physical body, a mind, and a spirit. To be truly healthy and doing well in all aspects of life, you must be healthy physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. All those parts of you combine to make up the whole you, and they are interrelated. Each impacts the other and if you are unhealthy in one of those areas, it will have a direct and negative impact on the other two. We must take care of the whole person. So, when Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit he is saying that your physical body (which is home to your mind, emotions, and soul) is also home to the Holy Spirit of God. And therefore, we as individuals have a stewardship responsibility to keep all aspects of our person as healthy as possible for as long as possible, and to use our whole person for the honor and glory of God. Paul also tells us in verse 20 that we were bought for this purpose at the price of Jesus’ death on the cross. On the cross not only did Jesus purchase your eternal soul, but He purchased your physical body (and your whole person) to be a walking, talking, mobile temple of God’s Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament the Spirit of God resided in a temple made of stone. In the New Testament the Spirit of God resides inside the bodies of the followers of Jesus Christ. And just like the people of God had a stewardship responsibility to properly care for the Temple in the Old Testament, so too do the people of God in our day. We have the same responsibility to take proper care of the temple of God and in our day, and that temple is your body. This is the first and most important reason you must take good care of yourself – because God said so and He requires it of you. You are the temple of His Holy Spirit and therefore you must take good care of yourself. We will now spend the rest of this month discussing many ways to do exactly that. 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: “Dear friend, I pray that you are prospering in every way and are in good health, just as your whole life is going well.” 3 John 2 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Take better care of yourself” One of the great maladies of our age is that as a society we are too busy and too stressed-out. Korean-born philosopher and cultural theorist Byung-Chul Han once wrote a book about it called “The Burnout Society.” His research revealed that our competitive, multi-tasking, service-oriented society is taking a severe toll on our mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health. This has resulted in psychological disorders of epidemic proportions, including depression, attention deficit disorder, and borderline personality disorder. Another consequence that is becoming increasingly evident in our society is the Japanese phenomenon known as “Karoshi” or, “death from overworking.” “Karoshi” does refer to suicides that are directly related to workplace stressors, but it also refers to health issues such as high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, and poor lifestyle choices such as alcoholism, bad diet, and lack of exercise (when those symptoms are attributed to working too many hours under too much stress). “Karoshi” began to show itself in Japanese society in the 1970s and exploded in the 1980s. In recent decades it has spread to developed nations around the world (including ours), until today it is recognized by the World Health Organization and the National Institute of Health as a global health crisis. We are all trying too hard to do too much for too long and we are not taking proper care of ourselves. This is a spiritual issue. Yes, it is physical, and yes it does have impacts on us mentally and emotionally, but as we will see as this series unfolds, it is very much a spiritual issue as well – with spiritual implications and consequences. That being the case, and this being the beginning of summer and vacation season, it’s a good time for us to consider this issue. Selfcare is critical, and most of us don’t do a good enough job of taking care of ourselves. We can all do better. 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: “What the world needs now” Our Bible verse for today: “Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.” 1 John 4:10-11 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Let’s all be more like Jesus” Charles Sheldon was a pastor and author in the late 1800s. He wrote what he called “sermon stories” for his Sunday night services. These were simple stories illustrating Biblical truth by asking the question “What would Jesus Do?” He then applied that question to the various fictitious characters in his stories. Ultimately, Sheldon used this theme and some of those stories to write the novel “In His Steps: What would Jesus Do?” That book was published in 1896 and it is still in print today. It has sold over 50 million copies, making it one of the best-selling books of all time. In the novel, a Pastor by the name of Henry Maxwell challenges his congregation to not take any action, for an entire year, without first asking the question “What would Jesus do in this situation?” And then, whatever the answer to that question is, that is the action the person was to take. The story then follows a variety of characters as they attempt to live an entire year guided by the question “What would Jesus do?” It’s a fascinating story and it is exactly the point the Apostle John was making in 1 John 4:10-11. Jesus set the example for us. Jesus had a winsome, compelling personality and He radiated love. That was so true that sinners flocked to be with Him. The outcasts, the downtrodden, the sick and the hurting, they all wanted to be with Jesus. Winsome, compelling, radiating love. That was Jesus and it should be true of us as well. As Christians we are to be like Christ – and I love to be around people who are. This is all about loving on purpose. Jesus loved on purpose and it is what made Him such a compelling and attractive personality. We should all want to be more like that. It is what the world needs from us. 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