Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Living with joy”   Our Bible verse for today: “Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Examples that inspire us”   I find it interesting that in this letter of joy Paul placed so much emphasis on the virtues of humility and service. It must be that Paul believed that humble service to others would be a source of joy for us. I think maybe he was on to something.   In his book, “The Fine Art of Friendship” author Ted Engstrom tells the story of a man who was in an accident and became paralyzed from the neck down. From that point on his wife had to do everything for him, including getting him out of bed, dressing him, feeding him, combing his hair, and everything else.   As the man was approaching his death, he had a friend record a letter he wanted to leave for his children to make sure they understood what a wonderful, humble, and sacrificial wife their mother had been to him during all those years of his disability. To illustrate that, he told them the story of one night when he wanted to take her out for a romantic dinner. To prepare for their night out she gave him a shower, shaved him, brushed his teeth for him, dressed him, combed his hair, put him in his wheelchair, got him into the car, loaded the wheelchair into the car, drove to the restaurant, unloaded the wheelchair, got him out of the car and into the wheelchair, wheeled him into the restaurant, and got him settled at the table.   When the food came, she fed him. At the end of the meal she paid the bill, got him back into the car, loaded the wheelchair, drove home, got the wheelchair out of the car, got him out of the car and into the house, undressed him, and helped him into bed. Then, as she was turning out the light she bent over and kissed him and thanked him for taking her out on such a wonderful date night.   That was a wife being Jesus to her husband and that’s what Paul was describing in Philippians 2:5. Paul was saying “Be like that!” We are to be like Jesus. We are to be like that wife being kike Jesus to her husband. We are to adopt the humble attitude of a servant and we should be glad to do so. By His example Jesus Himself turned the notion of greatness on its head. In Matthew 20:26 He said “The greatest among you will be the servant of all.”   That kind of humility and servant-heart comes from the Holy Spirit within us. When we consider the example of Jesus, and the examples of other Christians who have learned to be like Jesus, we’re inspired, and we ask the Holy Spirit to make us like that too.   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: “If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, make my joy complete by thinking the same way, having the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose … everyone should look out not only for their own interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:1-2;4 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “It’s a matter of the heart”   Let’s continue our thinking from yesterday regarding our quest to become truly humble followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Ultimately, it’s a matter of the heart. What Paul was describing in this passage is an effort made by the individual to shape your thinking and behavior in such a way that you will begin to become humbler. This is a matter of how you think about yourself and how you act towards other people. But again, this is tricky stuff because we can’t actually “do” anything to make ourselves humble. It’s the work of the Holy Spirit to develop the spiritual virtue of humility in us. But we can do things that make us more open to the work the Spirit wants to do in us.   Paul begins in verse one by describing the observable effect the Holy Spirit will have on individuals and in a group when He is allowed to rule and reign in their lives. There will be observable love, unity, affection, and mercy. That’s what the Spirit does in us, through us, and with us. So then in verse two Paul encourages us to participate in that – to be loving and unified and affectionate and merciful.   Then in verses three and four he provides us with specific instructions for intentional actions we can take to make sure that we are doing and being those things. He writes that we should allow no sense of rivalry or conceit to drive our thinking, speaking, or actions. Instead, we are to make a decision and take the necessary actions to put others before ourselves, and to give careful thought to the interests and needs of other people.   As I said, we cannot make ourselves humble. It’s the Holy Spirit slowly molding and shaping our hearts who makes us genuinely and sincerely humble. But there are things we can do that will help the process along. So even if we don’t feel like it, even if we are not genuinely concerned for others, and even if we are not really thinking of their interests as being more important than our own, if we intentionally act that way anyway, simply as a matter of obedience because the Bible tells us to do it, the Holy Spirit will use that thinking and those actions to accelerate our development in this area. If you act in humility often enough, eventually you will really become what it was you had only been mimicking up to that point.   When it comes to preparing your heart so that the Holy Spirit can mold you and shape you into a person who is genuinely humble, we commit these things to God in prayer, and then we conduct ourselves in the way He wants us to act towards others. The Holy Spirit will use that to bring about the changes in us that need to occur. When that happens, you will be a more joyful person and you will bring joy to others as well.   Ultimately, it’s a matter of the heart.     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: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “From humility comes joy.”   Dr. Harry Ironside was a well-known and much respected pastor, evangelist, theologian, Bible scholar, and author in Chicago in the early and mid-1900s. But one of the biggest struggles Dr. Ironside admitted to having in his personal life was humility. The problem was that he was very good at what he did, and he knew it. His preaching and teaching were so good that he was the pastor of one of the largest churches in the USA, with thousands of people coming to hear him each week. His books were popular and sold well, and they were even used as textbooks in Bible colleges and seminaries.   Of course, he knew that his great abilities were gifts from God, and he knew that his success came entirely from the Holy Spirit working in and through him. But still, he was good – and it was hard to deny it. So, he struggled with the sin of pride and he prayed for humility.   One day a friend suggested that the way to deal with this was to engage in a great act of humility, something that would make him a fool for Christ. He advised Dr. Ironside to make a sandwich board with the plan of salvation on it and to then spend an entire day walking around the business and shopping districts of downtown Chicago. A sandwich board was a popular way of advertising back in those days. It was two large pieces of board connected by straps and which then hung over the shoulders so that you had one board on your front and another on your back. The boards had messages or advertisements on them and the wearer would then walk around busy streets so people could see it. It was a hot, tiresome, and low paying way for someone to make a few dollars (like the people in our day who stand on street corners in costumes with large arrows waving people into some business establishment). Such people were often laughed at and mocked by the people on the streets.   But Dr. Ironside made his sandwich board sign with the plan of salvation on it, and he spent a long hot day trudging along the busy sidewalks of Chicago. And sure enough, people laughed at him, made fun of him, jostled him, and it was a miserable experience for him. At the end of the day, tired and discouraged and glad the day was over, as he was taking off his sandwich board Harry thought to himself, “I’ll bet there isn’t another Christian in Chicago who would have been willing to do this.” And boom! – pride got him again.   Humility is an essential virtue in the Christian life. If you want to make God happy, be humble. If you want to make yourself happy, be humble. Humble people tend to be easy-going, relaxed, and happier than prideful people. That’s why Paul included this lesson about humility in his letter of joy. But humility is an elusive virtue. As soon as you think you are humble, you’re not. Humility is something the Holy Spirit has to develop in us. It isn’t something we do, and it’s not a discipline we can engage in, it simply becomes part of who we are at the deepest level as the Holy Spirit works to make us more like Jesus.   Humble people tend to be joyful people. But true humility is elusive and hard to achieve. So, we will 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: “My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.” Philippians 1:20   Our thought for today: “Doing it with dignity and grace”   One of the great honors that comes with being a pastor is that I get to see people at their worst. That statement might sound odd but it’s true. Being welcomed into people’s worst times in life is something I do not take lightly. Such moments are also often inspiring because for spiritually mature Christians, their worst moments are also often their best moments. During the worst of times such people are often at their best. They deal with their difficult and even tragic circumstances with dignity, grace, and strong faith that brings honor to Jesus.   That’s what Paul was writing about in Philippians 1:20. Paul said that he had an eager expectation that he would conduct himself well as he dealt with his bad circumstances. And please note that Paul was not denying the difficulty of his situation. He wasn’t pretending that everything was fine and that he was unaffected by any of the hardships he faced. He was old, he was tired, his body was broken, he was chained to his guards, his future was uncertain, and all of that made his circumstances difficult. He wasn’t denying any of that and he wasn’t pretending it was different than it really was. He was just saying that he wanted to be found faithful in the middle of it all and he wanted to use his circumstances to bring honor to Jesus.   That should be true of us as well. You don’t have to pretend you’re not sick when you really are. You don’t have to pretend that being unemployed and not being sure of how you’re going to pay the rent doesn’t bother you when it obviously does and it should. You don’t have to paste a phony smile on your face and pretend that the sun is shining and the birds are singing when in reality the sky is black, the wind is howling, and a storm is raging in your life. The circumstances are real, they are bad, and it’s silly to deny it.   But we can still resolve to trust the Lord to get us through it. We can acknowledge that Romans 8:28 is always true and we can therefore look for opportunities in the middle of the crisis. And we can resolve that we want to honor the Lord and find ways to bless and encourage others as we navigate the choppy waters of these difficult times. That’s what Paul was modeling for us in this passage.   The thought I want to leave you with this morning is that because you have the Holy Spirit of God living within you, you have the potential to overcome any problems, any mistakes, any misfortunes, and any obstacles. You can be one of those strong, spiritually mature Christians who handles tough times in a manner that truly does bring honor to Jesus.   You can do this, and you can do it with dignity and grace.     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: “What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice …” Philippians 1:18 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Finding good in the bad”   Paul the evangelist wanted to be a free man traveling around the Roman empire sharing the good news about Jesus Christ. Instead, he was confined in a prison, chained to a Roman guard day and night, old and sick, and probably facing execution. But rather than lamenting his circumstances and being defeated by them, Paul shifted his focus and simply began witnessing to the guards and the other prisoners. In the process, not only did he win some of them to faith in Christ, but many of them began sharing the good news as well. And according to verse 18, this gave Paul great joy.   When you approach your difficulties the way Paul approached his, you win! Even if the circumstances seem bleak and are not what you would prefer, you and Jesus together can still turn the situation into a win for you and for the kingdom of God.   Make no mistake about it that Satan, the Roman government officials, the enemies of the Gospel, and all those people who just didn’t like Paul all thought they had won. They were thinking that Paul was in prison and maybe close to being executed. Surely this would teach him a lesson and shut him up. Surely this would stop him in his tracks and prevent him from making any further progress towards his life goals.   But they didn’t know who they were dealing with. They didn’t know that he had the power of the Holy Spirit within him, and they didn’t know he was sitting there in his jail cell making lemonade out of those lemons. Paul’s goal was to preach the gospel and he might have been in jail, but the other prisoners and the guards were in jail with him. Therefore, he had a captive audience! So, he just shook off the inconvenience of his circumstances and got busy taking advantage of the opportunities that were there.   Opportunities are always there. Regardless of what your circumstances are, and regardless of how bad things seem, there are always opportunities for you to accomplish some good thing in the middle of it all.   Romans 8:28 assures us that God can and will bring good things out of bad situations for those who love Him. That doesn’t mean the circumstances themselves are good – they may not be. But it does mean that God can and will bring some good thing out of those bad circumstances. Paul’s bad circumstances created an opportunity for him to move forward towards things that were important for him. Therefore, he ended up winning in this situation not losing, and that gave him great joy. The same can be true for you. With God’s help when you find the good in the bad, you win!   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: “… it has become known throughout the imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ. Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the word fearlessly.” Philippians 1:13-14 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Making lemonade”   I’m certain Paul did not want to be in prison. There are probably a thousand other places he would rather have been. But he was in prison and there was nothing he could do about it. So rather than sit there sniffling and sniveling, whining about how unfair life is, he looked for the opportunity in the middle of the obstacle and he went to work to take advantage of it.   This reminds me of a young man I worked with some years ago as he tried to recover from a critical mistake and to get his life back on track. He is a fine young Christian man who made a brief mistake by getting caught up in the drug culture. He wasn’t in it for very long, just a couple of years, but it was enough to land him in jail. That’s where I first met him. But after months of visiting and talking, and then working with the Public Defender, the District Attorney’s Office, and the Court, we were able to get him court-ordered into a Bible-based long-term residential drug rehab program.   And he did great. He was a model participant. Before long he was serving as a mentor for other young men in the program. Once he completed the program he was asked to stay on as an intern, with the goal of one day becoming a full staff member. But then out of the blue, a Grand Jury indictment was handed down that related to a crime he had been involved in back in his drug days but which, because of a lengthy investigation that involved numerous other people as well, it took more than a year for the indictment to come out.   So even though he was doing so well, his past reared its ugly head, reached out and grabbed him. Soon he was back in court, and then back in jail. But like Paul, he refused to let his circumstances dictate his attitude. Life handed him lemons, so he was going to make some lemonade there in that county jail. First, he committed himself to serious personal discipleship. Then, once again, he was a model prisoner. And also once again, he served as a mentor to other prisoners and he assisted the jail staff in many ways. Long story short, he completed his jail time, went home, got a job, got married, had children, and he has lived a good life as a law-abiding citizen for many years since then.     In the case of both my young friend and with the Apostle Paul, their circumstances were what they were and there was little they could do to change them. So, they decided to use their circumstances to achieve good things. I know it’s a goofy illustration, but they were making lemonade out of lemons – and you can too. Whatever your difficult circumstances are, you and Jesus together can make lemonade out of those lemons.     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: “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel.” Philippians 1:12 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “We just have to deal with it”

This morning, I want to return us to our thinking from yesterday as we considered the important lesson Paul teaches in Philippians 1:12 regarding finding opportunity in our times of crises and difficulties. In 1:12 Paul begins to explain how it was that he was using his unfortunate circumstances to further his goals. Essentially, he was saying, “In life stuff happens. We just have to deal with it.”

One of the best books I’ve ever read which helped me to appreciate this important truth is John Maxwell’s “Failing Forward”. A crisis can come in many different forms. It can come as the result of sickness, or a natural disaster, or in the form of sudden unemployment, or for many other reasons. A crisis can be caused by many things but one of the most common sources is personal failure. We’ve made a mistake, or we have in some way failed, and that sparked a crisis in our life.

Maybe you were unfaithful to your spouse and the result was a divorce. Maybe you really screwed up at work and got yourself fired. Maybe you committed a crime and now you’re facing jail time. Personal failure is one of the most common causes of a crisis in life and for many people it becomes a crushing blow that they never fully recover from. But that is always unnecessary. There’s nothing that God can’t fix in our lives if we will bring it to Him. True, we failed. But we can fail forward. Our failure can be a stepping stone that makes us better and moves us forward.

The whole point of Maxwell’s book is that life is a constant series of failures. Success is built on failure, and most successful people have succeeded because they overcame their failures and they weren’t afraid to keep trying until they did. Successful people know that failure is an inevitable part of life – nobody gets it right all the time. But every failure is an opportunity to learn and grow so you can then get back at it and do better the next time.

Failure is just one form of crisis in life but it is probably the most common. In Paul’s case he was in prison for sharing his faith, but whatever the cause of the difficult circumstances you’re facing, the principle that applies is that obstacles can lead to opportunities. In the middle of your crisis, there may be an opportunity waiting to be taken advantage of.

In life stuff happens. But as bad as it might be, we can deal with it in a positive way that makes us better and leads us forward.

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: “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel.” Philippians 1:12 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Obstacles can lead to opportunities”   The Chinese language in its written form uses pictures as symbols. These pictures are usually an assortment of squiggly lines, straight lines, curved lines, and small circles. The drawings are intricate and complex and the same symbol often has multiple, and sometimes contrasting meanings. For instance, the symbol for the word “weiji,” which means crisis, carries within it the double mean of danger and opportunity.   That’s right – when you see that symbol it can be describing a crisis which includes danger, or an opportunity, or both. The reason is because many times, an opportunity appears in the middle of a moment of a crisis. So, the lesson is that in the middle of the crisis we need to be looking for the opportunity that may be there as well.   That’s exactly what the Apostle Paul models for us in Philippians 1:12. If you remember the context of the letter, Paul is an old man now who was coming to the end of approximately thirty years of very hard ministry. During those years he had no home, he had no income of his own during most of that time, and he was constantly hounded by his enemies. He was chased out of town after town, beaten up repeatedly, imprisoned on multiple occasions, subjected to harsh conditions such as intense cold, extreme heat, long periods without food or water, shipwrecks, and more.   Now here he sits in prison, again, an old man with a broken body, probably facing execution. But while he was there, rather than lamenting his miserable circumstances, he instead wrote this upbeat and encouraging letter to the Philippians which is all about joy in Christ.   In the first part of chapter one he began the letter by writing about his deep affection for the Philippian Christians. Now he moves into a passage where he writes about how he is using his adverse circumstances in a positive way to further his ultimate objective of sharing the Good News about Jesus Christ at every opportunity. What we learn from Paul’s example is that adversity can be the catalyst that moves us forward to achieve God’s will. For Paul, that was a cause for great joy.   No sane person looks for trouble or is happy when it comes. All of us would prefer to avoid crisis situations. But life happens. Trouble comes. Occasional pain and heartache are part of this package deal. The question isn’t if it will happen, but how we will handle it once it does happen. As we learn from Paul’s example, even in a crisis or problem situation there will be opportunities for us, if we will just look for them.   Are you looking for the opportunities present in your difficulties? And are you taking advantage of those opportunities? 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: “As for me, I vow that I will not sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. I will teach you the good and right way.” 1 Samuel 12:23 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Remembering my pastor”   I hesitate to write this devotional message because being a pastor myself, it could seem self-serving. But it’s really not intended that way. Instead, it’s an effort on my part to remember and honor a man who the Lord used to have a tremendous positive influence in my life. His name was Oren Teel and he was my pastor.   Traditionally, the second Sunday in October is celebrated as “Pastor Appreciation Day.” It’s the day that congregations across the land recognize and honor their pastor for his service to them. It’s also the day each year when I pause to remember Oren and Louise Teel and to thank God for the way He used them in mine and Linda’s lives.   Oren was the man who baptized Linda and I. Oren and Louise were the ones who taught me how to be a pastor and Linda how to be a pastor’s wife. Beyond that, our own parents and families were all on the east coast and we were in California, so we seldom got to see them. Therefore, Oren and Louise essentially adopted us. I used to call Louise my west-coast mother.   Yesterday I mentioned how it is that every Friday I pray for the members of our congregation individually, by name (in the tradition of 1 Samuel 12:23). That’s a lesson I learned from Oren. It was also Oren and Louise who taught Linda and I that a church is a family and it should be characterized by love. Oren once told me, “Jim, just love the people. They will overlook mistakes, forgive bad preaching, and even put up with your ugly ties – as long as they know you love them.”   Many years ago, I constructed a statement which I believe captures the essence of the example Oren set for me and which has guided my thinking ever since regarding the nature of good and healthy church life. I wrote it down and have kept it in my Bible for decades. It reads, “We must think in terms of church family. The health of a family is not measured in numbers but in things like love, unity, good character traits, and maturity.”   Hilltop Baptist Church was not a big church but it was a good church – a healthy church. So is Oak Hill Baptist (which I am the pastor of today). In many respects, the two churches are very similar. Oren’s strong leadership and godly character were influential in that church all those years ago, and his influence is still making an impact in this church today through my ministry.   Oren was a good man who served the Lord and His people well for his entire adult life. Today I’m remembering my pastor.   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: “And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:9-11 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Your maturity can be their joy”   Many years ago, I adopted the practice of praying for every church member every Friday. I open the church pictorial directory, I look at every person’s picture, and I pray for them by name. (I also pray for those whose pictures are not in the directory, as well as for attenders who are not yet members, and for recent visitors.) I believe it’s helpful and a blessing for them to be prayed for like that, but it’s also a source of joy for me to take that time to think more deeply about each one of them and to bring them individually before the Lord in prayer.   In Philippians 1:9-11, as Paul continues this letter about joy and the things that bring him joy, he writes about how he prays for the Philippian Christians. He writes that he prays that their love, knowledge of Christ, and their ability to use good discernment will keep growing. In the previous passage he told them how much joy it gave him to witness the depth of their spiritual maturity, and now he prays that they will continue to mature even more. That will give him even more joy. (I can relate. As the pastor, it brings me a lot of joy to witness people growing in their relationship with Christ.)   Paul also prayed that they would be pure, blameless, and righteous – people who honored God with their conduct. All of that is the outgrowth of a life that is fully committed to Christ. Being a person like that, and being associated with people like that, is a source of great joy.   Lastly, Paul prays that all of this will be to the glory and praise of God. In other words, the more the virtues of love, discernment, good character, and godly righteousness were achieved in the lives of the Philippians, the more of a testimony it would be to glory of God. And so that is exactly what Paul prayed for them. Not only would all of that bring joy to the heart of God, it would bring joy to the heart of Paul.   I think we often underestimate the extent to which our spiritual maturity impacts others. A spiritually mature person brings joy into the lives of other people. Your spiritual maturity is a good thing for you and for all those around you. I encourage you to be intentional and thoughtful today about making the joy of the Lord in your life a source of joy in someone else’s life too.   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