Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Living with joy”   Our Bible verse for today: “I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself.” Philippians 4:11   Our thought for today: “We must learn to be content”   So, let me return to our concluding thought from yesterday’s devotional, “Are you a content person? If you are, then you are probably a joyful person too because there is joy found in the virtue of being content.”   However, please note that in verse 11 Paul said he “learned” to be this way. In other words, he trained himself in how to be joyful and content regardless of external circumstances and regardless of whether he had a little or a lot. He ‘learned” how to do this. Contentment is a learned frame of mind.   Do you remember the lesson from G.K. Chesterton? You can either constantly strive for more, more, more, or you can train yourself to desire less. Fortunately, in the last few decades here in the USA, especially in the Christian community, there has been a move away from conspicuous consumption and this never-ending quest to acquire more, and towards a life of simplicity instead.   In the Christian world it started many years ago when Richard Foster wrote his great little book “Freedom of Simplicity.” That book is all about simplicity as a spiritual discipline. Many people appreciated this practical approach and began to make changes in their lives. Then there was Bob Buford’s great books “Halftime” and “Finishing Well.” Both of those books pertain to making major shifts in focus. The first one is for those who are still in their working years and who are willing to consider a change of profession that will improve the quality of their life. The second is for those in their senior years who want to make the last season of life count in meaningful ways.    This is all about “less” being “more.” It is about making adjustments that improve the quality of your life in the areas that matter the most. That then leads to being more content.     Today we see this move towards simplicity and a desire for contentment across our society, as people from all walks of life are leaving the high-pressure world of workaholic jobs and finding employment that is more enjoyable and less time consuming. People are downsizing their homes, even moving into what are called “tiny homes.”   More and more people are gravitating towards the kind of life Paul wrote about in 1 Thessalonians 4:10-12, “But we encourage you, brothers and sisters, to do this even more, to seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and work with your own hands, as we commanded you, so that you many behave properly in the presence of outsiders and not be dependent on anyone.” Many are also learning the truth of what he taught in 1 Timothy 6:6, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”   There is great joy in learning to be content. But it is a learning process. It was for the Apostle Paul and it will be even more so for those of us who live in this society today. But the reward is well worth it. There is freedom and a great deal of peace, not to mention joy, found in a life that is simple, less stressful, and debt free. Therefore, Paul urges us to learn to be content.   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 © 2024 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: “Living with joy”   Our Bible verse for today: “I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know both how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content – whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need.” Philippians 4:11-12 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “There is joy in being content”   The lack of contentment is a major problem in the United States of America. We live in a consumer-oriented culture on steroids. We are conditioned to constantly consume at a high rate. Our society is awash in advertisements, all of them designed to make us unhappy with what we have and to convince us that we must have their product or service in order to be happy. But no matter how much you purchase and how much you consume – the message never changes, you still need something else, you must have something more. And so, we are never truly content.   That explains why it is that although we already live in the wealthiest nation in the world, with the highest standard of living that any middle-class people have ever enjoyed, most Americans are not content. Most of us believe we need to have more than we have. That also explains why it is that so many Americans live paycheck to paycheck, spending virtually every dollar they earn, and then they go deeply into debt to acquire even more than they already have (and more than they have the money for).   I want to paraphrase the great Christian writer from the late 1800’s G.K. Chesterton. He observed that there are two ways people go about trying to have enough. One way is to constantly strive to acquire more and more. The other is to learn to desire less.   More is never enough and it never brings you to the point of true contentment. There will always be something new, something bigger, something better, that you could have and which you end up wanting. But if you train yourself to simply be content with less, soon the cravings for more start to subside. You are far more likely to become content when you desire less than when you’re always striving for more, more, more.   That’s the point Paul was making in these two verses. Now please note that Paul did not say there is anything wrong with having money or a nice home or plenty of food. In fact, the way he described it here was that there were seasons of his life when he did have all those things. And then there were seasons of life when he was on the other end of the spectrum and he didn’t have much at all. All Paul was doing here was describing different seasons of life – the cycles that most of us go through as well.     His point was that his joy and contentment didn’t depend of which season of life he was in at any given moment. As he has been describing throughout this letter of joy, his sense of joy, peace, and contentment was inside of him and radiated out. Because he had the Holy Spirit of God in his heart and because the fruit of the Spirit was growing in his life, he was joyful and content on the inside, regardless of external circumstances.   How about you? Are you a content person? If you are, I’ll wager that you are also a joyful person. That’s because there is joy to be found in the virtue of being content.   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 © 2024 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: “Living with joy” Our Bible verse for today: Philippians 4:10 Our thought for today: “The joy of being cared for” Doesn’t it feel good to know you are cared for? Not just cared about, but cared for. Over the course of a couple of decades, the church in Philippi had repeatedly shown care for Paul. They loved him, prayed for him, supported his ministry financially, and even sent people to check on him to be sure he was okay. But apparently at one point, for one reason or another, the Philippians were not able to help Paul. That’s what verse 10 seems to indicate. But then, they were able to help him again and in verse 10 Paul writes of how much joy he received from their thoughtfulness and kindness towards him. I think we can all appreciate how Paul felt. We have all experienced the warm fuzzy feeling that washes over you when you realize that someone has been especially thoughtful and kind to you. It makes you feel good and it brings you joy. That’s what Paul was describing here. Their thoughtfulness, kindness, and generosity, was a source of joy and encouragement to him. You have the power to make other people feel good like that too. You can bring joy into someone else’s life by showing concern for them and by going out of your way to be kind to them. Sometimes it might be you caring for others, and other times it is others caring for you. Doesn’t it feel good to be cared for like that – to know that other people love you, they care about you, and they’ll be there for you? Once, while I was on a mission trip in the Amazon Jungle and my wife Linda was home alone, she fell and hurt herself and couldn’t get up. She called one of the ladies in our church who in turn called 911 and then rushed to our house. At the same time, she called me and through what must have been divine intervention, my cell connected to the call even though I was in the Amazon Jungle. Our friend kept me on the line when she got to our house and I listened as the paramedics had to break out a window in our back door to get into the house, find Linda, and transport her to the hospital. Two other church members, both nurses at the hospital, met her in the Emergency Room and stayed with her. In the meantime, two men went to our house and fixed the door. Then in the days to come, other church members cared for Linda and continued to check on her. Through it all, I was more than 3000 miles away in a remote part of the world and there wasn’t a thing I could do to help my wife. But it was okay because my church family had my back. They were watching out for my wife and taking care of her for me, and that gave me a great sense of comfort and peace. That’s the kind of thing the Apostle Paul was describing here. There is comfort, peace, and joy in knowing that you are cared about and cared for. And that is something we can all do for each other. 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)

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Copyright © 2024 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: “Living with joy” Our Bible verse for today: “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable – if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy – dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Right thinking leads to right actions” Malcom Forbes was a famous businessman and successful investor in this country all throughout the 1900s. He was one of the dominant figures in the high finance world of Wall Street. Forbes was renowned for his uncanny ability to pick winning investments. Somehow, he just knew which companies were likely to do well and which would probably struggle and fail. He was often asked what his secret was. He never hesitated to share it and the answer never varied. He said, “I bet on the jockey, never on the horse. I don’t need to know what industry the company is in, or what its financials are. All I need to know is what kind of person the CEO is. I bet on the jockey, never on the horse.” I remember my father using that same phrase when it came to placing bets on horse races. My dad loved to go to the racetrack and sometimes I would go with him. He only placed small bets but his philosophy for betting on horse races was the same as Malcom Forbes’ philosophy for investing in companies, he bet on the jockey never on the horse. My father knew who the jockeys were. He knew what their experience level was, what their records were, and how skilled they were. He knew that a winning jockey had a great work ethic and studied the craft of horse racing. A good jockey could ride an average horse and still win. What both my father and Malcom Forbes were doing was focusing on the character of the individual rather than on the nature of the job. They knew that if the individual was a man or woman of solid character then they would have a good work ethic, they would be reliable and dependable, and you could count on them to always produce the very best they were capable of.  Such a person is likely to be a winner even if other factors are less than favorable. Character is that important. Professional sports teams know this too. When they are deciding whether to offer a particular player a high dollar contract, they don’t just look at the player’s skills and talents, they also look closely at character issues. If a player is a person of solid character and with a good attitude, you can work with them and develop their skills. If a player has a bad attitude and a weak character, he is going to be trouble for you regardless of how talented he is. Character is the issue the Apostle Paul addresses in Philippians 4:8-9 as he continues his teaching about learning how to live with joy. The primary lesson we are to take from these two verses is that character is largely determined by how we think, and how we think determines how we act. Right thinking leads to right acting, which leads to a life lived well, which results in joy. We will explore this more fully tomorrow. We have reached the end of the month now, but we have not reached the end of Paul’s letter of joy. So, we will need to borrow a few days from the new month to complete our study of this theme. Then we will move on to a new theme. 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)

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Copyright © 2024 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: “Living with joy” Our Bible verse for today: “Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:5-7 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Pray more, worry less” As we consider Paul’s thoughts in Philippians 4:5-7 we need to connect this to what was going on with the two women Paul referred to in the previous verses and what he was trying to get across to them. They were in conflict and it needed to be resolved. In verse six Paul is teaching them (and us) that rather than worrying about if we have been offended, just pray about it and give it to the Lord. What did that mean for Euodia and Syntyche in the middle of the conflict between them? He was telling them to stop worrying about what they suspected the other one was saying and doing, and to stop letting that affect their own thinking and actions. Pray about it, commit it to the Lord, and let it go. Then in verse seven he tells them that if they will do that, God will give them peace and their heart and mind will be guarded from further assault by Satan. That’s what this lesson meant for those two ladies in the midst of their personal conflict with each other. And obviously, that same lesson applies to any conflict we have with any person. Pray about it, give it to the Lord, and then you focus on being an honorable man or woman of God who rejoices in Jesus and shows graciousness to all people – including and especially to those you might otherwise be in conflict with. Doing that will bring peace and joy, rather than conflict, worry and anxiety. But there’s a larger life-lesson in these verses as well. In the specific context of this passage Paul was giving advice about an ongoing conflict between two individuals in that church in Philippi. But the advice he gives can and should be applied by all of us and to all of life – pray more so you can worry less. This is a sure-fire prescription for minimizing fear, worry, and anxiety, and for maximizing peace and joy in your life. Rather than worrying, commit it to prayer. And the bigger the issue, the more difficult the situation, the more prayer it needs. These is more than just a quaint old Christian cliché. This is a promise from God and it is clear instruction to us about how to handle these things. You commit it to God in prayer, and He will give you peace and guard your heart. And the more you pray, the more peace and joy you will have. Pray more, worry less. That’s good advice for all of us and for all of life. 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

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Copyright © 2024 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: “Living with joy”   Our Bible verse for today: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His faithful love endures forever.” Psalm 136:1   Our thought for today: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good”   When a person has a general disposition of thankfulness, they tend to have a sunny and joyful personality. It’s the person who is always moaning and groaning about what they don’t have that tends to be the miserable one. They are so fixated on their problems and circumstances and the things they think they need to have, ought to have, should be given, that those thoughts dominate their thinking and color their personality. But a thankful person is also a joyful person.     The ancient Roman philosopher Cicero believed that gratitude was the parent virtue of every other positive attribute in a person’s life. He believed that every other good character trait grew out of an attitude of gratitude. According to Cicero, a thankful mindset becomes the foundation upon which the rest of a person’s personality is built and that then paves the way for a healthy and productive life in general.   Modern psychologists agree. They tell us that people who approach life with an attitude of gratitude and a sense of thankfulness are healthier in all areas of life including mental health, relationships, spiritual well-being, and physical health too.   Author Debroah Norville once wrote a book on what she called “the science of gratitude.” She found in her research that, “Practicing gratitude, acknowledging the blessings in our lives and making it a point to recognize the good things, can change us positively. We’ll sleep better and exercise more. We’ll feel more optimistic. We’ll be more alert and active.”   In Psalm 136:1 King David urges us to remember how good God has been to us and to give Him thanks. It’s a lesson that is taught repeatedly throughout Scripture. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Paul tells us that it is God’s will for us to be thankful people.   As Christians, we should be thankful by nature and we should be in the habit of continually counting our blessings. However, Thanksgiving is a time to be especially intentional about it. I encourage you to take the time today to prayerfully give thanks to the Lord. As the psalmist said, God is good to us. His blessings are many, and His faithful love endures forever.   God bless, Pastor Jim

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Copyright © 2024 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: “Living with joy”

Our Bible verse for today: “Yes, I also ask you, true partner, to help these women …” Philippians 4:3 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Be the peacemaker”

If unresolved conflict is a joy-stealer, then those who help to resolve conflict can be thought of as joy-restorers. This would be consistent with Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:9 where He called us to be peacemakers. This is also what Paul was referring to in Philippians 4:3.

Euodia and Syntyche, the two women referred to by Paul in Philippians 4:3-4, were in conflict and they obviously were not resolving it between themselves. So, Paul called for the leaders of the church to get involved and to help those two sisters work through it and get beyond it. Paul was aware of the situation, but he wasn’t close enough to it to really do much about it. So, he drew into the situation those who were close to it, and he tasked them with getting personally involved in the resolution of the conflict.

We need to do the same. We all have a vested interest in seeing conflicts resolved. Unresolved conflicts are Satan’s playground. They are guaranteed joy-stealers and they can have a profound negative impact on everyone else in the workplace, in the family, or in the church. God wants us to work for peace in our human relationships. Here are a couple of points to keep in mind as you try to help:

First, remember that in any situation you have never heard the whole story until you have heard both sides of the story. Even if each of the individuals is making a genuine effort to describe the situation accurately, they are still only telling it from their perspective. You need the full picture if you are going to help resolve it.

Second, it might be helpful to gently remind them both that how easily a person is offended, how quick they are to take offense and then to carry a grudge, is a direct reflection of that person’s spiritual maturity – or their lack of it. A spiritually immature person walks around cocked and loaded, ready to be offended. They’re always imagining offenses and perceived slights and once they have allowed themselves to be offended, they then cling to that offense and carry a grudge.

A spiritually mature person doesn’t do that. A spiritually mature person is not easily offended and they don’t harbor grudges. Unfortunately, some Christians lack the humility or the spiritual maturity to deal with perceived slights and offenses in the proper way. That’s when it becomes necessary for other Christians to step in and act as the peacemakers.

Is there an unresolved conflict that you are aware of and where the people involved need some help dealing with it? If so, will you be the peacemaker who helps them? If you will, the Lord could use you to restore to them the joy of living in peace with each other.

God bless,

Pastor Jim

If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Good morning, everyone, Our theme for this month: “Living with joy” Our Bible verse for today: “I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I also ask you, true partner, to help these women who have contended for the gospel at my side, along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers whose names are in the book of life.” Philippians 4:2-3 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Unresolved conflict is a joy-stealer” I dislike unresolved conflict. It steals my joy. That’s why Paul urges us in Romans 12:18 to make an attempt to live at peace with everyone, as much as it is up to you. The implication is that sometimes people won’t let us live in peace with them and therefore, there will not be peace in that relationship. But to the extent that we can, we are to try to resolve conflict if possible and to live in peace with people. In the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5:9, Jesus called for us to be the peacemakers. In Philippians 4:2-3 Paul addresses two ladies in the church in Philippi who had an ongoing and unresolved conflict that was evidently spilling over into the congregation. That is exactly the kind of situation Satan looks for and seeks to exploit. Remember the context within which Paul is addressing this issue. The letter to the Philippians is all about joy in Christ. So now Paul forces us to think about an issue that is a guaranteed joy-stealer. Unresolved conflict steals the joy of the individuals involved in it, and sooner or later it always spills over and begins to affect others as well. Often those involved in the conflict won’t be able to resist drawing others into it. Misery loves company. Also, we naturally want to get others to agree with us. We seek others to validate our thinking and our position. And by doing that we spread our own dark cloud of negative thinking until it envelopes others, maybe even an entire congregation. Paul wouldn’t allow for that and neither should we. Whether we’re talking about conflicts in the church or anywhere else in life, the most important thing we can do is to acknowledge it for what it is, bring it out into the light of day, and deal with it. Unresolved conflict is a joy-stealer, for us and for everyone else it touches. There’s more that needs to be said about this and so, we will continue this tomorrow. For now, if you have an unresolved conflict and there is a chance it can be dealt with, I encourage you to make the effort to do so. 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 © 2024 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: “Living with joy” Our Bible verse for today: “So then, my dearly loved and longed for brothers and sisters, my joy and crown, in this manner stand firm in the Lord, dear friends.” Philippians 4:1 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Stand firm in the Lord” Do you ever blow things up in your mind and allow them to become bigger in your head than they are in reality? That’s the kind of thinking that manages to take a small thing and turn it into a big thing. But it didn’t have to be that way. It wasn’t really a big thing to begin with, instead you turned it into something big by the way you allowed yourself to think about it. What a waste of time and energy! What a joy-stealer! As we learned in yesterday’s devotional message, worry, fear, and imaginary thinking are destructive emotions that have a negative impact on the mind, body, and soul of a person, and on the quality of your life and the health of your relationships with other people. But that’s not God’s desire for His people. God’s desire is for us to experience peace and joy, not worry and anxiety. Even though life can be difficult and painful, there are things we can do to maintain an overall sense of peace and joy, even in the storms and troubles of life. That’s where the Apostle Paul takes us now as he closes out his letter of joy. In this final chapter he will address several of the greatest -joy-stealers in life including unnecessary and unresolved conflicts; negative thinking; failing to guard our heart; and lack of contentment. The great truth to be learned here is that there are things we can do and actions we can take to maintain the peace and joy of Christ in our lives. As we will see in tomorrow’s devotional, Paul addresses and corrects two Christian ladies who were guilty of failing to do the very thing Paul called for in Philippians 4:1 – they did not stand firm in the Lord. Instead, they allowed Satan to gain control of their thinking. They turned what should have been a small thing into a big thing, and as a result, there was unresolved conflict that was having a negative impact on them and on others around them. Standing firm in the Lord is the key to living well. Standing firm in the Lord is the gateway to joy in life. We’ll think more about this 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 © 2024 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: “Living with joy” Our Bible verse for today: “So then, my dearly loved and longed for brothers and sisters, my joy and crown, in this manner stand firm in the Lord, dear friends.” Philippians 4:1 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Worry, fear, and anxiety will steal your joy” The angel of death was walking along the street when a man stopped him and asked, “Why are you here? What are you going to do?” The angel replied, “Today I am going to kill 10,000 people.” The man responded, “That’s awful! That’s terrible!” But the angel of death just shrugged and said, “Yeah, well that’s what I do. I take people’s lives. Sooner or later, everybody dies.” And he walked away. Later that evening the same man saw the angel of death coming back in the opposite direction. Once again, the man stopped him and this time he said, “I thought you said you were going to kill 10,000 people. I just heard that 100,000 died today.” And the angel said, “I did only kill 10,000. Those were the 10,000 who were supposed to die today. It was worry and fear that killed all the others, but none of them had to die.” Dr. Charles Mayo was the famous physician who founded the world-renowned Mayo Clinics. He once wrote that “Worry affects the circulation, the heart, the glands, the whole nervous system, and profoundly affects the health.” The Christian writer Corrie ten Boon once wisely observed that “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.” Do you ever find yourself getting caught-up in the trap of “What if” thinking? What if this happens, or what if that happens? One study revealed that something like 90% of the things we worry about never even happen. Another 5% of the things we worry about do happen but they end up happening good instead of bad. It’s only about 5% that actually do happen, and happen bad. But even then, they’re almost never as bad as we thought they would be. And so, we waste all that time and emotional energy worrying about things that in all probability will never happen; or will happen but will end up being good rather than bad; or, if it is bad, it probably won’t be as bad as we thought it would be. So, we need to stop worrying so much. Worrying like that causes unnecessary fear and anxiety, and it also steals our joy. In Philippians 4:1, as he was wrapping up this letter of joy, Paul urged us to “stand firm in the Lord.” He will then go on in the next verses (which we will look at in the days to come) to teach that if we do that, if we stand firm in Jesus, we will experience assurance rather than worry, and peace and joy rather than anxiety. Worry, fear, and anxiety are major joy-stealers in life but by standing firm in Jesus, we can effectively combat them. God bless, Pastor Jim If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 2024 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571