Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Salvation past, present, and future”   Our Bible verse for today: “Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that you may grow up into your salvation.” 1 Peter 2:2 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “It’s more than just having your sins forgiven”   Usually when Christians think of salvation we think of a one-time event when a person prays and asks Jesus to forgive their sins. In that moment their sins are forgiven and the person has the assurance of going to heaven instead of hell.   Although that one-time event is part of the plan of salvation, it is just a part of it. The Biblical doctrine of salvation involves more than that. Salvation is a one-time event, that’s true, but it’s also an ongoing reality and a future promise. Salvation provides for the forgiveness of our sins; and it provides us an ongoing sense of security in this lifetime; and it offers us the promise of eternity in heaven.   There are several paradoxes associated with the truth of salvation. A paradox is a situation where two seemingly contradictory things are both true at the same time. Salvation is both free and costly; also, it is a gift and yet it requires something of us; and it is permanent and therefore cannot be lost, but it must also be safeguarded and treated as the precious thing it is. The full doctrine of salvation is complex and involves actions by the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and by us. We will think about all these aspects of salvation this month.   In 1 Peter 2:2 Peter urges us to “grow up into our salvation.” This clues us into the fact that salvation is something that has already occurred if you have placed your faith in Christ (that one-time event), and yet, according to Peter, there is more to it (not something more required to be saved but something more to do because you have been saved).   In that verse Peter refers to a newborn infant. For a newborn infant who has already experienced birth there is now a growing and maturing process that must take place so the life that comes after birth can be fully realized. So too, just as the birth experience is only the beginning for the newborn infant, the moment of having your sins forgiven is just the beginning for the new Christian. Salvation is a one-time event, but it is also an ongoing reality that should bring with it growth and maturity – just like for that infant. And then, salvation carries on into eternity.   Salvation is so much more than just having your sins forgiven. It is the start of a new and wonderful life with Jesus that continues for all the days of your life and then on into eternity.   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: “Salvation past, present, and future”   Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “Similar but different”   Salvation and sanctification are both theological terms which are similar but different. Therefore, Christians are sometimes confused about the difference between them because they both have past, present, and future features.   Salvation is a one-time event that happens in a moment in time when a person places his or her faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. In that moment the person is saved. That is salvation in the past tense. However, salvation is also an ongoing reality in that once you are saved you remain saved. You cannot lose your salvation. In the world of theology this is referred to as “the security of the believer.” That is salvation in the present tense. Once saved, always saved. And then, salvation guarantees us eternity in heaven. That is the future of salvation.   Sanctification means that something or someone has been set-aside for holy purposes. The person or thing has been sanctified to and for God. That was true of the implements used for worship in the Temple in the Old Testament, and it is true of all who place their faith in Christ. In that moment you are set aside as holy for God. That is the past tense of sanctification in the life of the believer. You have been sanctified.   But sanctification is also an ongoing process as the Holy Spirit works in the life of the believer to transform him or her into the likeness of Jesus. This is sanctification in the present tense and it is an ongoing lifelong process. Not only have you been sanctified but you are also in the process of being sanctified, you are changing and transforming more and more into the image of Jesus. And then in heaven you will be fully sanctified, you will be the person God has always intended for you to be and who you will be for all eternity.   Salvation and sanctification are similar but different. The distinction between the two is important but sometimes confusing. Your salvation was a one-time past event that is also a present reality and a future hope. And the time of salvation, you were sanctified (set-aside for God). You now continue in the process of being sanctified as the Holy Spirit slowly transforms you more and more into the image of Jesus, and one day in heaven you will be fully sanctified.   You are a saved, redeemed, work in progress! You are not yet who you will be but you can thank God you are no longer who you used to be!   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: “Salvation: past, present, and future”   Our Bible verse for today: “In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed.” Ephesians 1:13 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Don’t doubt it”   We humans can be fickle, double-minded, doubtful, and easily sidetracked. We often forget things we once knew, doubt things we once believed to be true, and become untethered from the secure anchor of our faith. That can even be true of something so important and so foundational as salvation. Am I saved? Was I ever really saved? Am I still saved? Those are questions and doubts wrestled with by many Christians.   I can’t count the number of times over my decades of ministry that a professing Christian suddenly began to wonder if his or her profession of faith had been real and therefore whether or not he or she was ever really saved. Or, if perhaps they have lost their salvation because of some new (and what they consider to be grievous) sin.   I find it interesting that in Ephesians 1:13 the Apostle Paul thought it necessary to remind the Ephesians Christians about their salvation. He was writing to professing Christians – a whole church full of them (perhaps even an entire faith community spread over an entire region and encompassing multiple churches). He just threw this blanket statement out there reminding all of us about the reality of our salvation if we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.   The fact is that we need to be reminded frequently about the basic truths of the Christian faith. We need to circle back often to the basic foundational truths of our faith and relearn them from time-to-time, because we tend to forget them or we begin to doubt them. That’s why God repeats those truths in so many different places in the Bible. It’s also why we preachers and teachers of God’s Word have to keep reteaching things we know our people have already been taught and which they do already know. That’s especially true regarding the basics of salvation. We need to keep relearning these truths so we don’t forget; so we will not doubt; and so we will be able to explain it to others.   Therefore, for the month of February we will prayerfully and devotionally relearn what we already know to be true – that we have been saved, we are saved, and we will continue to be saved. It is salvation past, present, and future.   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: “A fresh start in a new year”   Our Bible verse for today: “There is profit in all hard work, but endless talk leads only to poverty.” Proverbs 14:23 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “What are you going to do about it?”   So, we have just spent more than a month-and-a-half thinking about, talking about, and praying about New Years resolutions. We have asked the Holy Spirit to show us areas of our lives that we need to change or improve upon. By now each of us should have a short, tight list of Holy Spirit inspired resolutions to guide us on our path of improvement. We should also have goals to serve as markers along the way and a plan to carry it out.   So, the question now is, “What are you going to do about it?” Talk is cheap. Good intentions are nothing more than good intentions – they don’t add up to anything if you don’t actually do something about it. As Solomon wrote in Proverbs 14:23, endless talk accomplishes nothing.   I have told you before about one of my favorite self-help books, “The Traveler’s Gift” by Andy Andrews. It’s a fictional story but it is also based upon solid truth about human nature and about achieving success in life. It leads the reader to make seven key decisions that will change the course of your life. The third of those seven decisions pertains to being a person of action – someone who acts instead of just talks. My personal rendering of that third decision reads like this, “I am a man of action. I will take the action necessary to make my life better.”   And since I do want that to be true of me, this will be the last daily devotional in this series, and the last for this month, because one of my resolutions for 2025 is to take four short personal retreats – one each in the winter, spring, summer, and fall. My purpose is to get alone with God and my journal so I can better assess what God has been doing in my life over the past year, what I have learned from that and how it has changed me, where I’m at now, and what God may have planned for the immediate and long-term future for me. I will also consider what changes or adjustments I should be in the process of making.   My retreat in the winter will be this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I will be going up to the Smoky Mountains for some cold-weather hiking and lots of quiet time alone with the Lord. This is how I will fulfill this portion of that resolution. Therefore, the next devotional you will receive from me will be on Monday February 3rd. At that time, we will begin a new study on a new theme.   In the meantime, with respect to your own resolutions, I encourage you to be a person of action. Challenge yourself with the question, “What am I going to do about it?”   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: “A fresh start in a new year”   Our Bible verse for today: “Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19   Our thought for today: “What needs to change?”   Are you familiar with the music of Zach Williams? He is a contemporary Christian musician whose music is very popular, and for good reason. His lyrics are deep and profound, grounded in important Biblical truth. They also speak directly to some of the most painful and difficult circumstances God’s people sometimes face in life.   Recently I read Zach’s autobiography “Rescue Story.” It was eye-opening. I had no idea what a deep, self-created pit of despair Zach lived in for decades before he became a successful Christian musician. He was deep into drug and alcohol abuse for many years and not only did he cause great harm to himself, but his wife, children, and parents also suffered because of his addictions and his wild lifestyle.   God had a great plan for Zach’s life – He was eventually going to use him to touch millions of people through his music. But before that could happen, things needed to change in Zach’s heart and in his life. God was in the process of delivering Zach from his addictions and bringing him into a new and much better season of life, but there were some other things that needed to happen first. On His part, God was busy orchestrating events in and around Zach, but there were things Zach needed to be doing too before he was going to be ready for what God had planned.   You may not be living in a deep pit of addiction like Zach was, and God may not be leading you into the ministry of a Christian music star, but God is at work in each of our lives delivering us from something, and leading us to something new and better. But for that to happen, there are other things that must happen first. Some of those are God-things and some of them are you-things.   There are events and outcomes that God is orchestrating to prepare the way forward for you, but there are also things that you need to be working on too so that you are ready to move forward with God. That was true in the life of Zach Williams, and it was the case with the Israelites at the time God spoke in Isaiah 43:19. He was leading them to something new and better. But there was a lot happening behind the scenes that needed to be accomplished first, by God and by them.   What needs to happen in your life before God’s plan for you can unfold? You can be sure that God will do His part, but are you doing yours? Your future can be bright, and God wants it to be, but are there some changes you need to make first?   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: “A fresh start in a new year”   Our Bible verse for today: “He has delivered us from such a terrible death, and he will deliver us.” 2 Corinthians 1:10 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Is He your Preventer or your Deliverer?”   Is God your Preventer or your Deliverer? It’s an important question posed by author John Eldredge and the correct answer is “He is both.” Some day in heaven, as all the moments of your life on earth are reviewed and revealed, you will be astounded to discover how often God was at work behind the scenes quietly protecting you and preventing bad things from happening to you. Without question, He is your Preventer.   But also, often, He is your Deliverer. Although sometimes He does prevent things from happening to you, very often, in His divine wisdom, He allows you to experienced the impacts of life in a broken and sin-filled world. He also allows you to experience the consequences of your own bad choices. But then if you will come to Him, He brings you through them and delivers you out of them. In such cases He was not your Preventer but He was your Deliverer.   Now, which is better? And the answer is, “It depends.” It would certainly be nice to never experience anything bad happen to us. But I think we would quickly come to take that for granted and we would soon not really appreciate the God who is at work behind the scenes of our lives serving as the Great Preventer of bad things. But when He delivers us … when we have been experiencing some of the bad that life throws at us and God steps into the middle of the mess and delivers us … then we get to experience Him in a much greater, deeper, and more personal way than if He had just quickly and secretly prevented the thing from happening at all.   I want to end by quoting the entire passage from Paul out of 2 Corinthians 1:8-10. We need more than just verse 10 in order to catch Paul’s full meaning, “We don’t want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our affliction that took place in Asia. We were completely overwhelmed – beyond our strength – so that we even despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a terrible death, and he will deliver us.”   The Apostle Paul knew God not just as his Preventer but also as his Deliverer. And as a result, Paul’s faith was stronger than it would have been if God had just quietly and secretly worked behind the scenes and prevented any bad thing from ever happening.   As you begin this New Year of 2025, are you working through or recovering from some life experience that has left you shattered and broken? Or perhaps, are you dealing with the long-term effects of past bad choices and you want 2025 to be a fresh start in a new year? If so, God is currently at work in your life acting as your Deliverer. He is bringing you through it. Give prayerful thought now to what you are learning about Him as He delivers you, and consider if perhaps you are growing and becoming stronger because of it.   We will think more about this 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: “A fresh start in a new year”   Our Bible verse for today: “The one who walks with the wise will become wise” Proverbs 13:20 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Who’s your hero?”   Yesterday I had the privilege of performing the funeral for my good friend Johnny Moore. He was ninety-five years old and he lived a very full, very large life. Johnny was a Country Music star in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. As a teenager in Texas, he was already singing on the radio and appearing onstage at jamborees and concerts across the state. Then he had some hit records and shared concert stages with some of the other up-and-coming young stars of that day like Willie Nelson, Jim Reeves, George Jones, Johnny Cash, and a young man named Elvis Presley.   In his mid-thirties Johnny chose to end his career in music because it was too hard on his family. Instead, he took his earnings and invested them in real estate and service stations. He became a successful businessman, owning service stations and investment properties in Texas and Tennessee. But throughout the rest of his life, he also maintained his close friendships with many in the music industry. He also served as a deacon in our church. His was a life lived large. In my opinion he was a Caleb figure (see yesterday’s devotional).   Johnny was also one of the nicest men I have ever known. He was kind and compassionate; friendly and outgoing; and he was very strong in his Christian faith. The fruit of the Spirit ran deep in Johnny (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control), and those character traits then radiated out of him. Everybody loved him because he was such a nice person. Over more than sixteen years of close friendship with him, I have never heard anyone say a bad word about Johnny nor have I heard him say anything unkind about anyone else.   At the funeral yesterday I told of how it is that I have always held certain people up as heroes to me (heroes in the sense that I see in their lives character traits and attributes that I admire and which I would like to be true of me). Caleb is one of my Biblical heroes. Johnny Moore has been one of the real-life heroes who I had the privilege to know personally and therefore to observe closely and learn from. Proverbs 13:20 is one of the many verses in the Bible that remind us of an important truth about human nature – over time, we become like those we associate with. It’s just a fact. Hang out with bank robbers and pretty soon you too will probably be robbing banks. Spend your time with good godly men like Johnny Moore, and there’s a good chance that some of that will rub off on you and soon you will begin to exhibit some of the behaviors and character traits you admire in him. Those who walk with the wise become wise.   Your mama was right, choose your friends carefully because over time we become like those we associate with. So, I ask you, “Who’s your hero?” Who are those special people you would like to be more like? I encourage you to spend time with them and learn from them.   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: “A fresh start in a new year”   Our Bible verse for today: “Here I am today, eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength for battle and for daily tasks is now as it was then.” Joshua 14:10-11 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “You can do more and you can do it longer”   Before I tell this story let me be clear that I never served as a U.S. Navy SEAL. I emphasize that because I detest stolen valor (when someone claims a military honor which they did not really earn), and sometimes this part of my personal story has been misreported by others as me having been a Navy SEAL. I was not. But I did want to be. I wanted to be a Navy SEAL officer and I did attempt it.   At one point in my career in the Navy I applied for, was accepted into, and I did attend BUDS (Basic Underwater Demolition School), which is essentially bootcamp for Navy SEALs. It’s six months of the most difficult military training in the world. And … I failed in spectacular fashion. It was embarrassing and probably even a little comical. I was not cutout to be a Navy SEAL. A pastor, maybe, but not a trained killer performing amazing feats of daring and heroism. That’s not me and I did not last long at BUDS.   However, I am glad I attempted it. And while I was there, I learned some important life-lessons that I have carried with me ever since. One of the most important of those lessons was “You can do more than you think you can, and you can do it longer than you think you can.” That’s a basic life-lesson and you will find it to be true if you’re attempting the most difficult military training in the world, or in any other challenging situation in life. If you will stick with it and push through it you will discover that you can do more than you thought you could, and you can do it longer than you thought you could.   I believe that’s the mindset the Old Testament figure Caleb approached all of life with. Caleb was one of the twelve men sent by Moses to spy-out the Promised Land, and along with Joshua, he was one of only two who came back with a positive report. He urged the people of Israel to be bold and courageous, trusting God as they faced what appeared to be an insurmountable challenge to go forward and take possession of the land God had promised them.   Caleb evidently lived his entire life with strong faith and a proactive, can-do attitude. So, in Joshua 14:10-11 we find him now eighty-five years old, still feisty, still strong and healthy, and still kicking butt and taking names. I love it! I want to be Caleb! What a healthy and productive way to approach life!   The truth is that we are all capable of doing more than we think we can, and we can do it longer than we think we can. I encourage you to be positive, be enthusiastic, and live life large – just like Caleb did.   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: “A fresh start in a new year”   Our Bible verse for today: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)   Our thought for today: “A little better today than yesterday”   Should I even want to be a better man than I am, or should I simply relax and be content? Isn’t it okay to just be me, or do I have to be forever in the mode of working and striving to improve?   The quick and easy answer, and the path of least resistance, is to convince myself I’m fine just the way I am and I should just relax and be content. But is it really God’s desire for me to stay how I am and to make little or no effort to improve in any area of my life? If so, then why would I even need the Holy Spirit to be my teacher, counselor, and guide? Why would it be necessary for the Holy Spirit to mold me and shape “into” the person God wants me to be?   The truth is that we can all be better than we are, and the job of the Holy Spirit is to guide us, nudge us, and counsel us into being a better man or woman today than we were yesterday. It would be arrogant and egotistical to believe I’m fine the way I am and that there is no room for improvement. If, as we have previously discussed, I am in fact a whole person – physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual – more than just a physical body, more than just a brain on a stick, more than just a bundle of nerves and emotions, and even more than just a spiritual being – if I am a whole person consisting of all of that – then surely there is room for me to become stronger and better in all of those areas.   Deep down we all know that we can be more, we can be better. Unfortunately, the gap between who we are and who we should be often seems wide and insurmountable. But that’s where Jesus comes in. Philippians 4:13 is true, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” If I am seeking God’s will in whatever the issue or situation is, then Christ will empower me to accomplish it. And remember that when it came to making New Years resolutions, we engaged in prayerful analysis of where we are in critical areas of life and where we should be. Then we asked the Holy Spirit to guide our thinking and to lead us to make some resolutions, followed by goals and plans to implement those resolutions. So, this is now a God-thing. Your improvement in those areas is a Holy Spirit project.   You can be better than you are. We can all be better than we are. Physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually better. God does want you to be living your best life, and the Holy Spirit will help you to do it. So, keep going. Make some progress today toward fulfilling those goals. If you do, you will be a little better today than you were yesterday.   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: “A fresh start in a new year”   Our Bible verse for today: “Though a righteous person falls seven times, he will get up, but the wicked will stumble into ruin.” Proverbs 24:16 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Fail forward”   The story goes that Thomas Edison was certain beyond a doubt that a glass bulb infused with electricity could emit light if it contained the right elements. But try and try again, he failed in his experiments to produce such a bulb. Over-and-over again he tried, and each time – nothing. But he believed in his dream and so he kept trying. Finally, after something like one thousand failed attempts, he hit upon the correct combination of elements and … the lightbulb was invented.   When questioned about his tenacity and his refusal to give-up Edison said that he had discovered one thousand ways not to make a lightbulb and then finally, he discovered the one way to make a lightbulb. All of his unsuccessful attempts were valuable learning experiences that led him to discovering the one way that did work. This reinforces the truth that learning from our failure is a crucial part of success.   Abraham Lincoln is another example of someone who persevered through numerous failures before he finally had success. He was fired from his job, defeated for a seat in the Illinois state legislature, went bankrupt in business, his fiancé died, he had a nervous breakdown, he was defeated for a seat in U.S. House of Representatives, he was defeated in an election for the U.S. Senate, he was defeated in his bid to be Vice-President, and then he won election as President of the United State and ultimately became perhaps our greatest President ever.   Failure is often a crucial element in success. We must be willing to try, try, and then to try again. That’s true regarding inventing a lightbulb or winning an election, and it’s also true with respect to successfully accomplishing our New Years resolutions. If you have stumbled in your resolution to eat better and exercise more, don’t quit. Just start again tomorrow. Likewise, if you have missed your quiet time with God for several days running, start fresh today.   One of the best books I have ever read on this matter of picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, and getting back in the saddle after you have failed, is John Maxwell’s great little book “Failing Forward.” It’s all about the very thing we have been thinking about this morning, and the concept applies to all of life. When you fail, make sure you use your failure to move you forward.   Success at anything is often a series of starts and stops, good intentions and failures, followed by new resolve and another attempt. Don’t give up. The application of Proverbs 24:16 for us is that if you did prayerfully develop your resolutions under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (as we discussed), then you are on a mission from God to accomplish them and He will help you to do so.   I encourage you, even if you have tried and failed, try again. Keep at it. Don’t give up.   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