Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “A fresh start in a new year”   Our Bible verse for today: “Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.” Galatians 6:9 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Push past the wall”   In my younger years I was a runner. Well, okay, maybe not a “runner.” I have short legs with a 30-inch inseam. I’m not built for speed. I was more like a jogger, a plodder. I could go a long way – I just couldn’t do it quickly. Once I ran (jogged) a half-marathon (13.2 miles). It took me forever but I eventually crossed the finish line.   When you are running a long distance, at some point you hit what runners call “the wall.” It’s the point at which you are struggling and feeling like you can’t go any further. You are right on the verge of quitting. You have hit the wall and if you allow it too, the wall will stop you and you will not finish your race. But if you grit your teeth and push yourself past the wall, you will catch your second wind. In other words, you will suddenly have a sense of renewed energy and strength that will carry you the rest of the way.   What’s true with respect to running is also true with respect to New Years resolutions. At some point you will hit the wall and you will have to decide if you are going to quit or push yourself past it, catch your second wind, and keep going.   The second Friday in January is commonly referred to as “Quitter’s Friday.” More New Years resolutions are supposedly abandoned on Quitter’s Friday than on any other day of the year. In other words, most New Years resolutions last about two weeks and then the person goes right back to their old way of living. I don’t know how true “Quitters Friday” is, but for the last four months I have been working with a personal trainer at a local gym. He confirms the idea of Quitters Friday. He says that in the first week of January there are more new members in the gym than at any other time of the year. But that quickly starts to diminish in the weeks that follow and by mid-February many of those new members are nowhere to be seen.   But that doesn’t have to be true of you. This is where a little personal discipline is called for. This is also where the power of the Holy Spirit comes in. Remember, God wants you to live your best life. He wants you to be healthy (physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually healthy). He wants you to be a good steward of your finances too. And He wants your relationships to be healthy. If you developed your resolutions prayerfully and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, then the Spirit will help you to keep them and to push past the wall. Claim Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” And then keep going.   Don’t be one of those who gave-in and gave-up. Don’t be a victim of the Quitters Friday syndrome. Push past that wall!   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: “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Do it for Christ’s sake too”   Yesterday we thought about the truth that God wants us to be different from the world around us. He wants us to stand firm in His Word and to stand out in the world as a shining example of the difference Jesus makes in a life. We also thought about the sad fact that our culture today is largely defined by our vices and addictions, resulting in a society of people who are addicted, indebted, unhealthy, and unhappy.   I offered the observation that God’s people should want to be different, and that’s one of the reasons we make New Years resolutions. It’s in our own best interest to be different from the world around us. Life will be better if we are not addicted, indebted, unhealthy, and unhappy. So, we do it for our own sakes.   But we also do it for the sake of Christ. When God’s people are living their best lives; when we are noticeably different and happier than the world around us; God gets the glory. When our lives are marked by the fruit of the Spirit radiating out of us (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23); when people can see the evidence of 1 Peter 3:3-4 in us, (a gentle and quiet spirit that is of great value in God’s sight); when we have clearly learned the lesson from Paul in Philippians 4:12 (I have learned the secret of being content); the world will then be seeing in us the difference Jesus makes in a life that is fully and wholly committed to Him.   Colossians 3:1-17, from which our verse for today comes, is an important passage of New Testament Scripture. In it, Paul contrasts the life Jesus calls us to leave, with the life Jesus wants us to have. He calls us to leave behind sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, greed, idolatry, anger, wrath, malice, slander, filthy language, lying, and all that goes with that kind of life. And he calls us instead to a life marked by love, holiness, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and unity. The contrast between the two is dramatic and stark.   We have to want to be different from the society around us and we have to be intentional about taking the actions necessary so we will be. That’s why we make and keep New Years resolutions. We honestly admit to ourselves the areas in our lives that need to be improved, we resolve to take the actions necessary to make those changes, we develop a plan for doing so, and then we stick with it.   We do it not just for our own sake, but for the sake of Christ. Because when we are different from the world around us, God gets the glory.   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 no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name. This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.” Revelation 14:11-12 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “We must want to be different”   I read an interesting and challenging statement the other morning in my daily devotional message for pastors. The writer was describing the woeful state of our society today and why it is so important for pastors to preach and teach the Word of God, and to lead their people to stand firm and to stand out in a culture that is descending in chaos and sinfulness.   The lesson was about helping God’s people to develop the character traits needed to be strong and courageous in a society that is spiraling out of control, and how to stand out as a beacon of hope and light as we model the difference Jesus can make in a life. Here was the writer’s observation about our society: “We are now the most indebted, medicated, addicted, and overweight population in known history. This is not a society learning good character.”   He was highlighting the fact that we live in a consumer-oriented culture that is addicted to conspicuous consumption, drugs, alcohol, food, pornography, and so much more. And not only are people not satisfied and happy with such lifestyles, they are so unhappy that we consume far more anti-depressants than any other society in the world. The writer’s point was that God’s people should be different, and the world should be able to see the difference. This is why we make New Years resolutions – because we do want to be different. But living different and better requires intentionality, discipline, patience, and endurance.   In Revelation 14:11-12 the Apostle John was describing a scene from the time of the Great Tribulation (which is yet to come) when the antichrist is ruling and reigning over the world. The people who follow him are frantically trying to please and obey him, only to discover that they are miserable. In the middle of that chaos, the people of God will have to be intentional, courageous, disciplined, and patient in order to endure and stand out as a holy shining example of the difference Jesus makes in a life.   In our day, we haven’t reached the time of the Great Tribulation yet, but our world is bad and it is getting worse. If we don’t want to be like the world then we will have to want to be different, and we will have to be intentional about making it so. We will think more about this tomorrow but for now please prayerfully consider if you are making an intentional effort to be different from our indebted, medicated, addicted, overweight, discontent, and unhappy society.   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 an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Establish boundaries and stick to them”   Yesterday we considered Solomon’s lesson from Ecclesiastes 3:1 primarily with respect to setting priorities. We learned that some things in life are more important than others and therefore they deserve priority in terms of when they get our attention, how much of our attention they get, and what things will be allowed to sometimes displace them on our priority list.   When applied to New Years resolutions, goals, and plans, we realize that some matter more than others. My goals for spiritual maturity are more important than my financial goals for the year. My plan to guard my health by maintaining good nutrition and getting daily exercise is more important than my two big home improvement projects I have planned for the year.   Yesterday we also considered how it is that the “tyranny of the urgent” can intrude on our priorities. The thing that seems urgent but which isn’t really an emergency, can get in the way of the thing that is truly important if we allow it to. So, we must have boundaries to protect the things that are truly important. For instance, Monday is my one day off each week. It is protected time. It’s an important part of my resolution to take proper care of myself (which includes rest and relaxation). If you call me on Monday regarding a church matter, I won’t take your call. Maybe if it’s an emergency, like Jesus is coming back but you’re not sure He’s coming for you, or your hair is on fire and you can’t find a fire extinguisher, I’ll talk to you. Otherwise, your call will go to voicemail and I’ll call you back on Tuesday. This is a firm boundary based on an important priority.   Unfortunately, we are sometimes bad at establishing boundaries and then sticking to them. We are much more likely to give-in to the tyranny of the urgent, allowing the phone call from a telemarketer to interfere with the conversation we were having with our spouse. Or, we keep making excuses for missing our time with God each morning, or for skipping church Sunday after Sunday, or for not going to the gym again today. There are reasons we make those choices but are they good reasons?  I think you see what I mean. If we allow it to happen, all sorts of events and people will intrude on our priorities and get us off track.   Years ago, there was a great book written by Henry Cloud and John Townsend regarding establishing and maintaining appropriate boundaries in all areas of life. It was “Boundaries: When to say “yes” and when to say “no” to take control of your life.” It’s an excellent book. Very helpful. It is still in print and I recommend it to you.      If we are going to achieve our most important goals, we will need to have firm boundaries established and we will have to stick to 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: “There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Establish priorities and boundaries”   This morning, I want to return us to our thinking from yesterday regarding the Apostle John’s teaching in 3 John 2 about a “whole” life that is healthy in all the right ways. In that devotional we considered the fact that there are four essential elements which together make us whole people. Those elements are physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. To be truly and fully healthy, we must be healthy in all four of those areas. New Years resolutions made and kept help us to achieve that.   However, not all resolutions are equally important and therefore not all goals should be allowed to carry the same weight. As Solomon taught in Ecclesiastes 3:1 (above), there is a proper time and place for everything. In other words, for our purposes, in addition to paying proper attention to resolutions we make and goals we set regarding our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health (or any pertaining to any other subject), we also need to get them in the right order. We need proper balance.   By way of example, I will tell you my own priorities in life. Nothing in my life is more important than my relationship with God. Therefore, that’s the first thing I tend to every day. God gets the first and best of my time. First thing in the morning, before anything else can happen to get in the way, I spend time with God in prayer and Bible study.   My second priority in life is my family. I think about them, I consider their needs, I determine what things I will do that day to ensure they are getting an appropriate amount of my time and attention. Third is myself. I make sure I have a plan for the day to take proper care of myself. That includes eating right, exercising, leisure, and sufficient sleep (If you don’t take proper care of yourself then you won’t be around to take care of others. Or, at least, your capacity to do so will be diminished.) Then, once I have assured myself that those three most important priorities are properly cared for, I turn my attention to my work. In my case, that’s my church (Yes, my dear church members, church is only number four on the list. Sorry.)   It’s essential that we have proper priorities established in life. Otherwise, we will get off track. We will be victimized by what is often called “The tyranny of the urgent.” I’m talking about things like the ringing telephone that pulls us away from an important conversation with our spouse or children. My friend, that conversation is more important than the ringing telephone. Ignore the telephone. Let it go to voicemail. Stick with the conversation.   I think you get the point but, how do we do this? How do we set and maintain appropriate boundaries that protect our most important priorities? That will be the subject of tomorrow’s devotional.   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: 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: “Four essential parts of you”   The Apostle John wrote the little letter of 3 John very near the end of his long life. Scholars estimate it was around the year 90 A.D. As verse one tells us, it was to his dear friend Gaius, a leader in one of the churches in Asia Minor. We believe John was essentially a supervising senior pastor over many small churches in the region and he served as a mentor to the younger pastors.   What’s interesting and helpful for our purposes here this morning is the comment John made in verse two. He wrote that he prayed his friend was prospering “in every way,” including in terms of physical health. He even wrote that he believed Gaius’ whole life was going well. What’s being described there is a life that is balanced and healthy in all the important ways.   There are four ways in which we humans need to be healthy if our “whole” life is going to be going well. Those four ways are physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. When we talk about the physical person, we’re talking about the life of the body. For optimum well-being, your body needs to be reasonably healthy for your stage of life. Few things will negatively impact your life more than bad health.   The mental aspect refers to the life of the mind. This is all about remaining intellectually sharp and engaged. And just like physical health, there are things we have to do in order to keep the mind healthy. Endless hours of television and computer scrolling dulls your intellect and turns your mind to mush. Reading, study, learning new things, solving puzzles, and other intellectual pursuits help to keep your mind sharp.   Emotional health refers to the life of the heart. This is a matter of emotional stability and is described for us by Scripture passages like Galatians 5:22-23 (love, joy, peace, patience …), and 1 Peter 3:3-4 (a gentle, quiet spirit). This is the kind of emotional health Paul urges us in Philippians 4:8 to intentionally cultivate by controlling the influences we allow into our heart.   Spiritual health refers to the life of the spirit within us. Not the Holy Spirit (He is alive and well, thank you very much). This is about your spirit. Is your spirit healthy? Are you properly caring for the life of your spirit?   A healthy life will include a good balance of health in those four key areas. You are a whole person. You are more than your body, you are more than just a brain on a stick, you are more than just a bundle of nerves and emotional energy, and you are even more than your spiritual self. This is a complicated and deep subject that bears more discussion, so we will come back to it 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: “Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Like a puppy on the freeway”   In addition to writing daily devotional messages, I also read devotionals written by others. Currently I have three that I read every day. One is by a fellow daily writer who has a blog on one of the websites that my devotional appears each day (WordPress). Another is a devotional for pastors called “Apples of Gold.” It was given to me as a gift from some friends and I’m being blessed by it. It is deep and rich; insightful and helpful.   The other devotional I’m using each day this year is called “Restoration Year” by John Eldredge. It’s for people who are trying to pick up the pieces and put their lives back together after some kind of a tragic loss (such as the death of a loved one). In one of those devotionals, John was writing about the importance of being thoughtful and intentional about how we approach life – especially about how we approach the subject of healing and restoration.   Eldredge refers to Jesus’ illustration in Matthew 10:16 about being like sheep among wolves. He notes that few of us in the modern world have ever spent time caring for sheep, and most of us have never encountered a wolf in the wild. Therefore, Jesus’ illustration about how dangerous our world is, isn’t easily transferable to the world we live in.   So, substitute the picture of sheep among wolves for puppies on a freeway. That’s how dangerous life is for those who are unprepared to deal with it. In Matthew 10:16 Jesus warned us that we are not to be uniformed and naïve about the challenges and dangers we will face each day as we live in this world. Instead, we are to be alert and wise; intentional and smart (as shrewd as serpents).   If you are just casually meandering through life, clueless and without direction, you will be like a sheep among wolves (you will get eaten up), or, like a puppy on a freeway (you will get runover by life). This is one of the reasons we are spending so much time here at the beginning of the new year thinking about purpose, plans, and resolutions.   Don’t be like a puppy on the freeway of life, because you will get run over. Another way of putting it is don’t just do life and don’t just let life happen to you. Be alert; be smart; and be intentional.   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: “Don’t continue drinking only water, but use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.” 1 Timothy 5:23 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Move it or lose it”   1 Timothy 5:23 has nothing to do with the debate about whether Christians should ever consume alcohol as a beverage. In terms of Christian history, that’s a relatively modern debate which has developed largely over the last several hundred years. For most of the history of Christianity wine was used as a beverage because it was one of the few liquids that was consistently safe to drink. Beverages like water and milk were frequently contaminated or spoiled but wine, because it was fermented, was usually safe and wouldn’t make you sick.   But that’s not the context of 1 Timothy 5:23 anyway. In Paul’s day wine was also medicinal. It was used as a medicine and that was why he was instructing Timothy to drink some – it was to settle his stomach. But the larger point, and the one that we need to consider today, is that it was something Timothy needed to be doing for the sake of his physical health. He had a responsibility to take care of himself so he could continue in ministry.   Us too. We have a responsibility to take care of ourselves. That obviously means we have to feed our body on good nutritious food rather than on junk. It also means we should take medicine when we are sick, and in our day of medical science (which is a gift from God), we are to go to the doctors when needed, get our regular screenings, and accept the procedures that will correct our medical problems.   Also, one of the easiest and most helpful things we can do to stay healthy is to simply stay active. You may remember from high school science class that Isaac Newton’s first Law of Motion states that a body at rest will remain at rest, unless an outside force acts on it to make it move. And a body in motion will stay in motion unless an outside force acts on it to make it stop. If we apply that thinking to physical fitness it means that you will stay there on the couch watching reality shows unless you force yourself to get up and get moving. But once you have developed the habit of being active, you will stay active because it becomes your new normal.   The old saying, “Move it or lose it” applies as well. If you move your body, it will stay healthier longer. But if you don’t stay active, your body will become fat and listless and you will probably die younger that you otherwise would have. Move it or lose it.   The point is that there are things we need to do to take care of ourselves and one of those things is to stay active. Put that body in motion and keep going! Move it or lose 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: “Don’t you know that your body is the 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 (CB)   Our thought for today: “As healthy as possible for as long as possible”   This morning, we will return to our thinking from yesterday regarding the important truth revealed by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 about the fact that our physical body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Paul even says in that passage that your body was purchased by Jesus at a price – His own death on the cross. That means that on the cross Jesus not only purchased your eternal soul to be in heaven, but He also purchased your physical body to be used by Him as a place for His Holy Spirit to live now.   That makes you a walking, talking, mobile temple of the Holy Spirit of God. Everywhere you go, you take the Spirit with you. And not only is He living inside of you, but He accomplishes things in this world through you. The Spirit uses you as the hands and feet of Jesus. Through you the Spirit speaks words of truth to a lost and confused world. Through you He feeds the hungry, houses the homeless, visits the sick and the incarcerated, and a thousand other acts of compassion and mercy all done in the name of and for the sake of Jesus. On the cross Jesus purchased your physical body to be used in that way.   So, returning to our thought from yesterday – each of us has a responsibility to take good care of this temple which houses the Spirit of God for the purpose of carrying on the work of Jesus in this world. Just like a physical temple building made of construction materials will grow old, deteriorate over time, and eventually no longer be functional, so too with your physical body. That’s just the way of the material world. But again, like that physical building, we the owners of that temple have a stewardship responsibility to maintain and take care of it, keeping it in the best condition possible for as long as possible.   As you age, your body will progressively become weaker, sicker, and less capable. But there are things we can all do, at every stage of life, to maintain this temple of the Holy Spirit in the best condition possible for as long as possible. Tomorrow, we will consider some of those ways. For now, resolve that you will do the things necessary to stay as healthy as possible for as long as possible.   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: “Don’t you know that your body is the 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 (CB)   Our thought for today: “Take care of that temple”   I have an old friend who is a medical doctor. Once I was visiting with him in his private office and I noticed on the bulletin board next to his desk a newspaper cartoon he had cut out. The scene was in a doctor’s office. On the examination table was a very old man – bent, shriveled, and in obvious pain and discomfort. We are left to imagine what his ailments are – probably all the aches and pains common to advanced old age.   The doctor is standing next to him and he says, “For all the decades that I have been your doctor you have been telling me about the extra effort you made to take good care of yourself so that you might get an extra ten years of life. Well, these are them.”   Granted, that’s dark physician humor and it is funny, but it also helps to reinforce the point that as we age our bodies decline until eventually, they stop functioning altogether and we die. No matter how well you take care of yourself, your body will become increasingly frail until someday you will die anyway. True, but is that a good reason to not take care of ourselves? Of course not. We are to do our best to stay as healthy as we can for as long as we can.   There are many reasons that makes good sense. For one thing, being healthy feels a lot better than being unhealthy. You should want to be as healthy and mobile as possible so you can enjoy life to the fullest. And no matter your age, there are things we can all do to be as healthy as possible at every stage of life.   Also, your family and loved ones need you to take care of yourself. There are few things in life that cause us more anguish than to witness the premature diminishing health and/or early death of someone we dearly love. Your loved ones need you to take care of yourself!   Beyond that, your physical body is a gift from God that is to be cared for and used properly for His purposes. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 reveals that your physical body is actually a temple of God’s Holy Spirit. Yikes! A temple of the Holy Spirit of God! That’s serious business. And that being the case, we must have a serious responsibility to take proper care of that temple, wouldn’t you think? The answer is “yes,” we have a responsibility to care well for the temple of God’s Holy Spirit.   We will come back to this passage and this truth tomorrow and explore it in greater depth. In the meantime, do you have at least one New Year’s resolution that involves taking better care of yourself physically? I hope you do. There are some pretty good reasons that you should.   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