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 43:18-19 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “It’s the story of you”   And so, the story of you continues. Welcome to 2025! It’s a new year and an opportunity for a fresh start. As I noted in my sermon at Oak Hill Baptist Church last Sunday (December 29th), 2024 was probably a mixed bag of good and bad for all of us. For some of us it was especially challenging. But the past is past and we can’t re-live it. There is no going back, only forward.   Good, bad, and in-between, 2024 was a chapter in the story of your life. Now, in 2025, the story of you continues. The story of your life is still being written and God has things He wants to do in you and through you in the coming year. That’s the message He sent to the nation of Israel through the words of the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 43:18-19. They had had a rough time too, but God was planning to renew and restore them. A new day was dawning, something new was coming. God was making a way forward in the wilderness of life, and there was going to be rivers of blessing flowing through the desert.   For you too. That promise is for you too. But are you ready? Can you see it coming? Are you expecting it? Are you preparing for it? Have you set some goals and made a plan to do your part?   God had something good planned for Isaiah and for the nation of Israel but they were going to have to believe Him; they were going to have to embrace the promise; and then they were going to have to do their parts by moving forward into that future, doing the things they needed to do for the promises of God to become a reality in their lives.   That’s true for you and me too. The fulfillment of God’s promises doesn’t happen by magic. Although miracles without our involvement do sometimes happen, most of the time the fulfillment of God’s promises in our lives is a joint effort between Him and us. He requires us to believe, plan, and then act in faith – not just sit there waiting for Him to do all the work.   Your story, “the story of you,” is still being written. 2025 will be the next chapter in that story. I hope you are looking forward to it with eagerness and anticipation. God is about to do a new thing in your life. It’s coming. It’s the next chapter in your story.   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 © 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: “A fresh start in a new year”   Our Bible verse for today: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.” 2 Peter 3:18 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “This is the most important thing”   As Peter closed out his letter of 2 Peter, he did so with an exhortation to his readers to do the things necessary to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter’s purpose in writing this letter was to encourage and strengthen his readers in their faith. He included sections about growing in the faith, trusting in the prophetic word of God, guarding against the poison being spread by false teachers who were twisting Biblical doctrine, and being ready for the second coming of Jesus. With those thoughts in mind, he closes with verse 18 which exhorts us to be intentional about our spiritual growth.   This is the most important thing. On this eve of the New Year, as we lock-in the New Year’s resolutions that will serve to guide us throughout the year, number one on the list should be a plan for spiritual growth. Nothing will have a greater impact on your life than the depth of your relationship with Jesus. The stronger that relationship is, the better your life will be. And that will be true regardless of any other event that unfolds (good or bad).   As we go through life, dealing with the situations and circumstances that are common to all people, we need to be firmly grounded in the deeper reality of a strong relationship with Christ. This is the center, the anchor, the firm foundation upon which our lives need to be established and lived.   Far too many Christians are way too casual about the practice of their faith. For them, prayer and Bible study is hit-or-miss most days; attendance at church is also uneven and spotty. They also could not claim to be fully invested in the full life of their church, including a ministry that is theirs. That’s a casual and half-hearted practice of the faith, not serious discipleship.   What changes will you make to the practice of your faith in 2025? In what ways will you ramp it up? One good practice would be to use a good study Bible such as The Experiencing God Study Bible” or “The Swindoll Study Bible” for your daily personal study time. Also, I encourage you to make a resolution to get fully involved in the life of your church by faithful attendance on Sunday, joining a small group Bible study, participating in special church events, and participating in a ministry in the church.   The single most important thing any of us can accomplish in 2025 would be to makes significant progress in spiritual maturity by growing more in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.   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 © 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: “A fresh start in a new year”   Our Bible verse for today: “Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Approach it with eagerness and anticipation”   As I write this, we are less than forty-eight hours away from the start of the new year. Granted, January 1st is just a day on the calendar and there really isn’t anything magical about it. If you want a fresh start, you can begin at any time not just on the first day of the new year. And yet, there is great symbolic significance in turning the page and beginning a new calendar year. We can make the beginning of the new year the starting place for our fresh start.   Yesterday at Oak Hill Baptist Church I preached our New Years sermon to launch us into 2025. If you weren’t there in-person or online, I encourage you to go to our YouTube channel and watch the sermon. But this morning, as we rapidly approach the beginning of the new year and what will be a fresh start for many of us, I want to repeat a few of the key points from yesterday’s sermon.   First, as you think about the 365 days that the Lord has laid out in front of you, frame your thinking in a Biblical perspective. In other words, think about the future the way the Bible describes it. Lamentations 3:22-23 encourages us to view it with trust, eagerness, and anticipation. Jeremiah 29:11-14 reminds us that God has prepared the future for us and He will be there in that future waiting for us when we arrive there. Proverbs 3:5-6 and Matthew 11:28-30 remind us that He will even walk through our days into the future with us, side-by-side, helping us along the way.   It is also true that we should have an attitude of gratitude regarding the life we already have and where God has brought us to so far in life. We then realize that the plan God has for us going forward will be built upon the foundation He has already formed in our life. Another important point regarding our thinking about 2025 is that we are to value our time. Our life is made up of the minutes, days, weeks, months, and years the Lord has ordained for us. We are not to waste our time, nor should we allow others to waste our time either. Your life is made up of your time. If you waste your time, you are wasting your life.   Finally, we should resolve to make a difference each day. Since God has chosen to let you continue living, He has a reason for it. There are things He wants to accomplish in you and through you in 2025. For a fuller explanation of each of those points, please watch the sermon.     I hope you are approaching 2025 with a great sense of eagerness and anticipation. Remember the lesson from a previous devotional in this series that we tend to get what we expect. In other words, our subconscious mind works to create the circumstances our conscious mind is focused on and expecting to get. So, expect good things. You have a good God who loves you and who wants the best for you. Trust Him. Be looking forward to what He has planned for you in 2025.   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 © 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: “A fresh start in a new year”   Our Bible verse for today: “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “What’s holding you back?”   Before I became a pastor I had a career in the U.S. Navy. Early in my career (long before I became a Christian), there was a common saying that was popular among us young sailors and which we would challenge each other with. If a man was holding back and making excuses for not doing something he was supposed to do or which he needed to do, we would sarcastically ask him, “Well, what’s holding you back? I don’t see an anchor tied to your rear-end!” (Okay, we were sailors, and we were young, and we were not Christians, so the language we really used was a bit cruder and more colorful but I think you get the picture.)   The point is that we often make excuses and we talk ourselves out of doing the things we need to do when we should just be moving forward.   Philippians 4:13 is an important passage that teaches an important principle. Paul’s focus was forward-looking. He was aware of his past and he didn’t forget the painful lessons he had learned from past failures. But he didn’t make excuses and he didn’t allow past failures to hold him back from moving forward with God’s plan for his life and from becoming a better man today than he was yesterday.   Perhaps you have tried to lose weight before – many times, and you either failed or you quickly gained it back. So, you doubt you will be successful this time. Or maybe the same is true of better financial management practices. Or … maybe lots of things. The point is that we often allow our past failures and our excuses to hold us back from moving forward into a better future.   But Paul didn’t. The past and all its sorrows, regrets, and failures, was past. He wasn’t going to allow the past to steal his future. There’s a lot of wisdom in the old saying, “Try, try, and try again.” And how about this one: “Nothing is over until you give up!” And then there’s the great Biblical truth shared by Paul in Galatians 6:9, “Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at that proper time if we don’t give up.”   So, what’s holding you back?   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 © 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: “A fresh start in a new year”   Our Bible verse for today: “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Do you have a Biblical worldview?”   A worldview is the lens through which a person views and understands the world around them. It is a philosophical framework that helps us to make sense of what we are seeing and hearing in the world, and to then evaluate those things, classifying them as good or bad, right or wrong.   There are many worldviews. There are liberal worldviews and conservative worldviews. There is a Hindu worldview, a Muslim worldview, a Jewish worldview, and a Christian worldview (not to mention numerous other worldviews not based in religion). To a large degree, worldviews are shaped by culture, education, family tradition, and peer pressure. Ultimately, a person’s worldview shapes their life.   Christians must have and maintain a Biblical worldview. In other words, we consider all we see, hear, and experience in the world and we lay it alongside the Word of God. We then determine the rightness or wrongness, the goodness or the badness of anything based upon how it compares to what God has said in the Bible. We should not try to make the Bible say more than it does, nor should be make it say less than it does. On every issue, we let the Bible speak for itself and then we draw our conclusions about the issue based on what the Bible says.   Some years ago, I wrote a book designed to help Christians develop and maintain a Biblical worldview with respect to sexual ethics. The title of the book is “Getting Along without Going Along.” It first examines what the Bible does and does not say about the subject of sexual ethics. Then it provides a section of “Good answers to hard questions” (such as: “If homosexuality is a sin, then why didn’t Jesus say anything about it?) The book also addresses the issue of how Christians can boldly and confidently advocate for a Biblical worldview regarding sexual ethics without getting ugly about it (Getting Along without Going Along). If you would like a copy of that book let me know and I would be happy to send you one.   As you are considering your New Years resolutions, I urge you to include some that involve strengthening your Biblical worldview. Study your Bible every day. Pay close attention to sermons and take notes. Be involved in a small group Bible study. Read good Christian books.   Your worldview matters more than you might realize, and the culture will be happy to form that worldview for you if you let them. I urge you to be diligent in your development of a solid Biblical worldview and then to carefully guard 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 © 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: “A fresh start in a new year”   Our Bible verse for today: “He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard against all greed, because one’s life is not in the abundance of possessions.” Luke 12:15 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “What is your true net worth?”   I recently read a story about two men in a conversation about another man who had recently died. One man asked the other, “What was he worth?” A third man, overhearing the conversation interjected and said, “I sure hope he was worth more than just the money he had.”   That’s an important and helpful insight. How do we measure the worth of a life? What are the metrics we typically use? Money, fame, popularity, college degrees, business success, big houses, fancy cars, physical appearance, trophy wives (and husbands), athletic ability, and so on. The things the world uses as measures of our success all fit into the category of worldly treasures. But those are superficial and temporary. What really matters in life?   It’s the question Jesus posed in Luke 12:15 and the parable that followed. In that parable, Jesus told the story of a rich man who gloried in his abundant possessions – but then his life ended suddenly. All his worldly wealth was left behind and he found himself standing before God for judgment. In that moment, his worldly wealth and all his great achievements amounted to nothing. The metric God was interested in was the condition of the man’s soul.   It’s a common theme in the Bible. When assessing the substance of a person’s life the Bible doesn’t focus on worldly wealth and achievements but on the condition of a person’s heart. In 1 Timothy 6:17-18 Paul teaches us to be rich in the things of God. In 1 Peter 1:3-4 Peter writes, “Don’t let your beauty consist of outward things like elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of jewelry, but rather the inner things of the heart, the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great value in God’s sight.” (Peter used a woman as his example but the lesson applies to men and women alike.)   As you consider New Years resolutions you will make in order to bring about some needed changes in your life in 2025, the lesson to glean from this devotional message is that your true net worth is not measure by what you have in terms of wealth, possessions, or achievements, but by who you are as a person.   I encourage you to make resolutions that will help you grow as a person. Your true net worth isn’t measured by what you have but by who you are.     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 © 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: “A fresh start in a new year”   Our Bible verse for today: “My soul praises the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Luke 1:46 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “May your soul be revived this Christmas”   Today is Christmas Eve. I love Christmas Eve, maybe even more than Christmas day. There’s just something about Christmas Eve that exudes warmth, love, and anticipation.   At our church we have a Christmas Eve candlelight service at 5:00. The families of the church gather in the sanctuary that is beautifully decorated and softly lit with candles burning. It is dark and cold outside but warm and snug inside. We sing songs about the birth of the Christ child, there is a short Christmas message, then we sing “Silent Night” as we each hold up our burning candles. Then all the families go off to their homes to enjoy a meal together and an evening of family activities.   In our family Christmas Eve was always special. After coming home from church, we would light a fire in the fireplace, we had a meal together, and then we would each open a single gift. We would save all the other gifts for Christmas morning. Both Christmas Eve and Christmas day are special times in the life of a Christian.   The celebration of Christmas, if properly observed, can serve to lift-up and revive our souls. In Luke 1:46 (above), shortly after Mary received the news from the angel that she was to give birth to the Savior, she sang a beautiful song of praise to God. That song is part of the Christmas story and it should describe the impact that Christmas has on us as well.   If you would like to listen to a Christmas sermon about celebrating Christmas at a deeper level and in a manner that will truly revive your soul, I encourage you to go to the Oak Hill Baptist Church YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville. And select the sermon for December 22, 2024.   My family and I wish you and yours a holy and blessed Christmas celebration.   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 © 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: “A fresh start in a new year”   Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.” Galatians 6:10 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Do you want a life filled with joy?   Do you want a life of joy? Then live a life of love and purpose and service. The most joyful people are the ones who are the most loving and they are the best servants. People like that live with purpose and intentionality as they move through their days blessing people in the name of Jesus and making life better for everyone around them.   In this series I have already shared with you the fact that I’m a big fan of positive affirmations. Compulsively so. I have dozens of them written down and tucked away in all sorts of places where I’m sure to come upon them frequently – in my Bible, as book marks in the books I’m reading, in the console in my truck, in my top dresser drawer, on my desk, and in many other places. Here’s one I came across years ago, which I wrote down and which has continued to inspire and motivate me, “As I go through life, do I leave blessings in my wake: do I leave a trail of gladness behind? Let it be said that, “He went about doing good and blessing people.”   All throughout the Bible the people of God are called upon to live lives of purpose as we go through our days blessing and serving people in the name of Jesus. Doing so is one of the primary purposes of your life as a follower of Christ. If He had wanted to, Jesus could have reached down, yanked you up, and brought you straight to heaven in the moment He saved you. But He didn’t do that. Instead, He chose to leave you here on earth for some extended period of weeks, months, years, or maybe decades. He did that so you can go through your days serving and blessing others in His name and helping to advance His kingdom-building purposes here on earth.   As you prayerfully consider the New Years resolutions you are making to guide you through 2025, I encourage you to consider the ways in which you will serve others. Be intentional and specific about it. Not only will you be serving the Lord and blessings others, but the quality of your own life will improve substantially as well. It really is true that the most joyful, fulfilling, and rewarding life you will live is that one that is centered around love and service and purpose.   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

Copyright © 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: “A fresh start in a new year”   Our Bible verse for today: “These commands I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them … Talk about them … Write them …” Deuteronomy 6:6;7;9 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Write it down”   The Bible is filled with commands, directives, instructions, inspirational thoughts, and positive affirmations, all designed to encourage us and guide us as we seek to live our best lives. And over-and-over again we are told to write them down. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 is just one of the many examples in Scripture where God instructs His people to write down what He has revealed to them and to review it frequently.   Why does God instruct us to write these things down and to then frequently review them? Because if we don’t, we will forget them and we will quickly get off track. It’s so easy to get caught-up in life. We become weighed down with the cares of life and we lose perspective. Then we can lose hope and to get off track. That’s why it’s so important to make the extra effort to stay focused on the things God has revealed to us and which He has instructed us to do.   Yesterday we considered how it is that our subconscious mind works to deliver to us the outcomes our conscious mind is expecting and is focused on. Therefore, it’s important and helpful to discipline our conscious mind to stay focused on the outcomes we really do want. That’s why we write down our resolutions and then review them multiple times every day. It’s also why we form a mental image in our mind of what our life will look like once that outcome is a reality for us. Then we play that movie in our head over-and-over again.   As you continue to prayerfully consider the changes God would like you to make in your life in 2025, be sure to write them down. Decide on the objective, create a plan to achieve it, write it down, then review it multiple times every day. If you do that, you will be much more likely to stay on track and to actually achieve it.   So please, write it down.   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 © 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: “A fresh start in a new year”   Our Bible verse for today: “For I know the plans I have for you” – this is the Lord’s declaration – “plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “What outcome are you expecting?”   A basic law of human nature is that we tend to get what we expect. Another way of putting it is that we attract to ourselves the outcomes we expect. That doesn’t hold true 100% of the time of course, but generally, it is true. The subconscious mind works to try to achieve for us the things our conscious mind focuses on. So, when you brood over an expected outcome your subconscious mind is at work trying to create that outcome for you.   Maybe you can see how that could be to our advantage or disadvantage depending on what outcome the conscious mind is anticipating and therefore thinking about. Back in the 1950s Dr. Norman Vincent Peale wrote a best-selling book which has since become a classic. The title is “The Power of Positive Thinking.” Norman Vincent Peale was a pastor and his book is Biblically based, filled with lots of Scriptural support for his points. The basic premise of the book is what we are thinking about this morning – we attract to ourselves the outcomes we expect. Therefore, it is vitally important what outcome we are expecting and thinking about.   That book had a powerful influence on me and I have reread it numerous times over the decades since I first discovered it. One practice I adopted after reading that book is writing out positive affirmations. I have lots of encouraging passages of Scripture and other positive affirmations written down on index cards and kept in my Bibles, on my desk, in my truck, in my gym at home, in my office at the church, and in multiple other locations. I review them frequently and I keep them in my mind.   Why do I do that? Because those positive affirmations represent the outcomes I want to experience. So, I keep them in my conscious mind; I pray about them; I mediate on them; I form a mental picture in my mind of what it will be like once that positive outcome is a reality in my life.   I think you can see how this strategy can and should be applied to our New Years resolutions. Write them down. Review them often. Form a picture in your mind of what your life will be like once that outcome becomes reality for you.   Let me end this morning where we started by asking you to prayerfully consider, “What outcomes are you expecting?”   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 © 2024 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571