Good morning, everyone,   Our theme for this month: “You are not alone”   Our Bible verse for today: “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families.” Psalm 68:5-6 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “The presence of God in families”   The other day I was reading in the Old Testament book of Ezra. It takes place about five hundred years before the time of Christ. The time of captivity in Babylonia was coming to an end. A contingent of Jews had been allowed to return to Jerusalem to begin rebuilding the city, but they didn’t get very far. They lacked good leadership, they faced opposition, they became discouraged, and eventually they allowed themselves to be co-opted by the culture around them. Soon they even began inter-marrying with the godless people from the surrounding societies and consequently, there was a rapid break-down of both the biological and the church-family structures.   Enter Ezra – and he was mad. Not only were the people dishonoring God, but they were hurting themselves. The strength of the family structure – both the biological and the spiritual families, were breaking down and the people were worse off for it. So, Ezra set about correcting the problem and reestablishing the integrity of the family structures.   In the introduction to the book of Ezra the editors of “The Mission of God Study Bible” write, “Family is important to God. Parents are primary caregivers; children are primary learners and future leaders. You can see a picture of eternity here: There are no orphans in God’s kingdom. That’s why Ezra speaks emphatically about family as one of the strongest images of God’s Kingdom.”    That is certainly true of biological families, but it is even truer of church families. Biological families are united by blood, but that tie ends at death. Church families are united spiritually, and that bond lasts for eternity. As the Psalmist expressed in Psalm 68:5-6, God gives us families (biological and spiritual) as a gift, and He intends for all of us to be part of one. God’s presence, protection, provision, and purposes are often manifested to us through our biological and spiritual families.   Being part of a close-knit biological family isn’t always possible. Way too many factors come into play including geography, personalities, conflict, death, and much more. But being part of a close-knit spiritual family is possible – and it is essential. Biological families are important, and being part of a good one can be a beautiful experience. Spiritual families can take the place of, and make up for, the lack of a biological family and from an eternal perspective, play an even more important role in our lives.   God’s protection, provision, and presence are frequently manifested to us through the structure of the family – the biological family, but especially through your spiritual family. Look for God in your family structures. He is there.   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 © 2026 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: “You are not alone”   Our Bible verse for today: “For the Lord is great and is highly praised; He is feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens; Say among the nations: The Lord reigns.” Psalm 96:4-5; 10 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “God rules and reigns”   Psalm 96 is a great affirmation that God is King of the earth and that He is Sovereign over all things. There is nothing in all creation that is beyond His control. He rules and reigns over it all. Verse five is especially significant: “For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.”   The gods of the earth (little “g”), are nothing compared to the God of the Universe. The gods of the earth (people or things which possess and wield power and influence) can be anything from those who influence popular thought through cultural pressures; to celebrity entertainers and sports figures; to advertisers who convince us to want more than we need; to a demanding boss. Essentially anyone or anything that directs and influences how people think and act can be a god. Those people and influences can have great control over us and can negatively impact our lives to the point that they do indeed seem to have the power of gods.   The good news is that the One True God, the God who made the heavens and all of creation, He is the One who truly rules and reigns. None of the little gods exist or function outside of His sight or control. Our God – the True God – Your God – is able to protect you and deliver you from the power and control of the little gods.   My friend, there is nothing going on in your life today that God is not aware of, and which God does not have power over. Although the power and influence of the outside forces – those little gods – may, in the moment, seem daunting and destructive, don’t ever forget that the Lord is the only true God and that He rules and reigns over all the situations of your life. You are not alone. God is with you and He is in control.   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 © 2026 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: “You are not alone”   Our Bible verse for today: “May God be praised! He has not turned away my prayer or turned His faithful love from me.” Psalm 66:20 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “God won’t turn away from you”   Have you experienced any answers to prayers lately – big answers, little answers – maybe in your life or in the lives of others? One person I know has just come through one of the darkest times of her life. For more than a year and a half she endured betrayal from a loved one, a career change, great financial hardships, and much more. Throughout it all she kept looking to God and sure enough, He answered prayers, provided resources, created new opportunities, and ultimately brought her through it.   There are many other examples of sickness that was healed, surgeries which were survived, unemployment which led to a new and better job, and much more. I have had periods in my own life that were very challenging but, along with the Psalmist I have been able to proclaim, “May God be praised! He has not turned away from my prayer or turned His faithful love from me.”   God has promised that He will never forsake us and He will never abandon us – and experience proves the promise to be true. If you’re going through a tough season of life right now, I encourage you to spend a little time contemplating God’s past faithfulness to you. Remember the prayers that were answered, the provisions that were received just in the nick of time, the deliverance and peace that always seemed to come when they were needed. Then realize that you can trust Him in your present situation and for the future as well.   God is good – all the time; and all the time, God is good! I promise you, the time will come – probably very soon – when you too will be able to say, “Praise God! He did not turn away from me; His faithful love was there for me.”   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 © 2026 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: “You are not alone”   Our Bible verse for today: “For He will order His angels concerning you, to protect you in all your ways; because he is lovingly devoted to Me, I will deliver him; I will protect him because he knows My name. When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will rescue him and give him honor.” Psalm 91:11; 14-15 (HCSB)   Our thought for today: “God is watching over you”   Psalm 91 is one of the greatest of the “protection and deliverance” Psalms. When I served in Operation Desert Storm during the Iraq war, this Psalm was popular among the forces out in the Iraqi desert. It was even set to music and distributed to the soldiers and marines on a cassette tape.   In verse one the Psalmist writes of how those who intentionally live under the protection of the Almighty enjoy the sanctuary and security of dwelling in His shadow. In verse two we find that we can then claim God as our “fortress” and “refuge.” Verses 3-6 speak of being delivered by God from the dangers around us. We find that He is a protective shield around us, and that dangers and pestilence can’t touch us. This protection, according to verse 7, is available to us while others around us – those not under God’s protection – fall and suffer.   In verses 11-13 he writes of angelic oversight that includes guidance, support, and protection from danger. Based upon this passage I often include a line in my own prayers in which I ask God to extend to myself and to the others I am praying for, “A hedge of angelic protection – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.”   Finally, in verses 14-16 we read that because this individual is lovingly devoted to God, God has committed to listen, answer, protect, and honor this one who faithfully and devotedly honors Him.   Do you know the God of Psalm 91? Have you placed yourself under His protection? Are you residing in His shadow and taking refuge under His wings? If you are lovingly devoted to Him, He will be there for you. God watches over you.   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 © 2026 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: “You are not alone”   Our Bible verse for today: “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” Psalm 133:1 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “There should be no “Lone Ranger” Christians”   In Psalm 133 King David was writing about what a beautiful thing it is when God’s people dwell together in unity. He even ends verse one with an exclamation point! He was being emphatic about the sweet sense of comradery and fellowship that is present when God’s people are together and unified.   In the editorial notes included in “The Upside-Down Kingdom study Bible”, the editors give us an important insight into the significance and deep meaning of the Hebrew words that David used to express this truth. Their explanation is very good, so I’m going to quote it in its entirety:   “When the people of God are unified with one another, King David writes, their unity is “good and pleasant.” The same Hebrew word for “good” (tov) first appears in Genesis 1 as God repeatedly declares his creation “good” and “very good”. To be “tov” is, in the truest sense, to live in the way we have been designed to live from the very beginning. We are designed to experience togetherness with one another. As for “pleasant” (naim in Hebrew), this word signifies sensory pleasures like visual beauty and sweetness of sound and taste. The unity of God’s people is not just theologically good in an abstract sense; it is also meant to be lovely in ways we can see and hear and taste.”   The editors go on: “This call to unity among believers applies no less today than it did in King David’s time. Pursuing friendship and togetherness with one another can be challenging, especially as our world becomes increasingly siloed and polarized by differences in theology, politics, and experience. But the pursuit of unity – the choice to enter into relationship and to love one another – is not optional for followers of Christ. As we commit ourselves to this vocation of unity, despite its hardships, we display the beauty and sweetness of God by living in the goodness for which we were created.”   We were created to be in fellowship with other believers. It is not God’s intent for any of us to be loners. In God’s family there are to be no “Lone Ranger Christians”. That’s why it’s so important to be part of a good church family. God manifests His presence among us through the love and attention we receive from brothers and sisters in Christ. Unity serves to enhance our awareness of the presence of God. That’s true because God designed us for relationship with Him and with others.   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 © 2026 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: “You are not alone”   Our Bible verse for today: “Lord, You have been our refuge in every generation. Before the mountains were born, before You gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, You are God.” Psalm 90:1-2 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Thank God for the old folks”   There’s a lot of emphasis these days on new forms of church. Contemporary worship, new Bible translations, congregations meeting in converted supermarkets and theater buildings, are just a few examples. We even have Internet churches now. While I do like contemporary praise music, and I appreciate the importance of contextualizing our approach so we can more effectively reach people within the cultures they live in, I’m also a big fan of the old. In fact, I believe we can learn a lot from the past.   Personally, I like old hymns and old books. The songs of the church from generations past are theologically rich, and some of the greatest Christian authors of all time have lived and written in past generations. I also believe it’s important for us to pay attention to, and learn from, the older folks in our churches.   In my early years as the Pastor of Oak Hill Baptist there was a woman in our church by the name of Mary E. Henry. “Mary E”, as we knew her, was one of the last remaining founding members of Oak Hill Baptist. At that point she had been a member for over 70 years. She had also served as the church pianist that whole time. She played the piano at the very first meeting of that church, and she was still playing it when I got there 70 years later!   Mary E. was also the best local church historian I have ever known. I spent hours sitting at her kitchen table looking through the numerous photo albums and scrapbooks she had compiled over the years to document and catalogue the history of Oak Hill Baptist Church. She had photos, newspaper clippings, flyers, and all sorts of memorabilia.   But the best memories came from the stories she told. Mary E. could sit for hours and tell one story after another about God’s faithfulness over the years and of how He touched lives, provided for people, and preserved and protected the church. It was a rich education for me, and I’m convinced that my time spent with Mary E. made me a better pastor for the people of Oak Hill Baptist.   There’s a lot we can learn about God’s faithfulness, about His protection and provision, and about His abiding and continuous presence with us, from the older generations. As you gather with your church family this weekend, I encourage you to seek out some of the older folks who have been there for years, or decades. Thank them for their faithfulness and then spend some time listening to them. Like me, I’ll bet you’ll find it to be a rich and enlightening education about God’s faithfulness. He never forsakes us, He never abandons us, and the older generations are proof of that.   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 © 2026 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: “You are not alone”   Our Bible verse for today: “You are My friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you slaves anymore, because a slave doesn’t know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from the Father. You did not choose Me, but I chose you. I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.” John 15:14-16 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Are you a “friend” of Jesus?”   In John 20:21 Jesus gave us an excellent summary statement of how God the Father goes about accomplishing His mission here on earth. There Jesus said, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” God the Father sent His Son Jesus into the world to pay the penalty for the sins of mankind and to get the ball rolling to spread God’s Kingdom on earth. Once Jesus had accomplished His part, He then handed it off to His followers to continue the work. We read about that hand-off in John 20:21, Matthew 28:18-20, and Acts 1:8, among other passages.   In John 15:14-16 (above) Jesus explained that if we will accept the task and join Him in His work, He considers us to be His friends. Not a slave serving a Master, but a friend working together to achieve a common goal. Now, I do look upon Jesus as my Master. But He chooses to see me as His friend. Not a slave obeying out of compulsion, and not even just a follower seeking to please a leader, but a friend! The dictionary says that a friend is “One you know, like, and trust. One towards whom you are favorably disposed; someone you are comfortable with; someone you have warm and loving feelings for.” Wow! What a privilege to be thought of in that way by Jesus.   But please don’t miss the point that that friendship is not automatic, it’s conditional. Jesus said you are my friends “if” you do what I command you. That friendship – that close relationship that is warm, loving, comfortable, and trusting – is reserved for those who are intentional about actively joining Him in His mission.   As Christians we have been called to be “on-mission” with Jesus. We are to be actively involved in helping to build and spread His kingdom on earth. Our greatest sense of identity as Christians, our deepest point of connection with our Lord, and our most heightened state of being aware of His presence with us, comes when we are walking side-by-side with Him helping to accomplish His mission here on earth.   The more we join Jesus in His work, the better we will know Him and the closer our relationship with Him will be. That’s true of relationships in general. One of the reasons I love church workdays and group projects is because when church members work together side-by-side to accomplish a task, they get to know each other better and they grow closer.   Very often, people who had simply been members of the same church end up developing close friendships because they worked together on a church project. It’s the same with Jesus. When we join Him in His work, we come to know Him better. So much so, that He considers you to be His friend. I encourage you to join Jesus in His work today!   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 © 2026 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: “You are not alone”   Our Bible verse for today: “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” Psalm 84:10 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “A feeling of security and contentment”      This morning in my Bible reading I came to Psalm 84:10 and as this verse always does, it reminded me of my old friend Dick DeGrow. Dick was a retired pastor who was a member of the first church I was the pastor of. He served as a deacon and Sunday school teacher. Dick and I used to have lunch together every Tuesday. At that time, I thought it was because I was such an interesting guy that Dick seemed to enjoy spending time with me. I later realized that in his quiet and subtle way, the old retired pastor was mentoring the young new pastor.   Dick also served as the church custodian. Not because he needed the money, but just because he liked being at the church and he loved being useful in the Lord’s work. There was one morning I was in my office working on a sermon and Dick was there to clean the church. He came by, stuck his head in the office door and asked, “How’s my Pastor this morning? Is there anything I can do for you?” I looked at him and asked, “Dick, why do you do this janitorial work? At your age you don’t need to be doing this.” A soft smile slowly formed on his face and he said “Pastor, I would rather clean the toilets in the house of the Lord than to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.” Then he smiled again and said, “You have a nice day” as he shuffled off to clean the restrooms.   That scene has stuck with me for all these many years. What I saw was a man who had found his peace and happiness, his sense of fulfillment and satisfaction, in a deep relationship with God. Dick didn’t need a lofty title, a big salary, or an important position to feel as if he was involved in something meaningful and significant. All he needed was to walk quietly and humbly with his God – serving Him well and being a blessing to others. For Dick that was a life well spent. I don’t think I have ever known anyone who had a greater sense of the Lord’s presence, or a greater sense of peace, contentment, and security, than Dick DeGrow.  He was a man who walked closely with the Lord, and it showed.   Contentment, fulfillment, a sense of security, and an awareness that the Lord is always with you and will never abandon you, it all grows from a deep relationship with Him.   May your goal in life be to simply walk quietly and humbly with your God, to serve Him well, and to bless others in His name. If you do that, over time you will develop a deep awareness of His presence and you will feel secure and content.   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 © 2026 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: “You are not alone”   Our Bible verse for today: “We are pressured in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Adversity can bring us closer to God”   When we say that God is “Sovereign” we mean that He reigns and rules over all creation. He has absolute power over every person and over every situation. He has a comprehensive plan for world history, and He rules the destiny of both men and nations. Since He has the power to intervene at will and put a stop to anything at any time, everything that happens is either caused directly by Him, or in His divine wisdom He chooses to allow it to happen.   That being the case, we can wonder why God allows bad things to happen to good people. The Apostle Paul is a case in point. Few people have suffered more for the cause of Christ than Paul did. He gave up his profession, his income, his home, and his friends to be obedient to the call of God. He then suffered non-stop opposition, was criticized constantly, he was chased, arrested, beaten, left for dead, shipwrecked, bitten by a snake, and much more.   Why did God allow those things to happen to Paul? Why does He allow things like that to happen to any of us? Well, if you know Paul’s story, then you know that everything Paul suffered was used by God to make him even more effective for the cause of Christ. Paul’s perseverance, tenacity, and faithfulness made his message even more powerful.   I once had a close friend who was fighting cancer. At one point, she endured a rather radical surgery to cut the cancer out and she then went through extensive radiation treatments. But through it all she was bright and perky, smiling and positive. When you were with her, she wanted to talk about you and others, not about herself. And through it all she praised God.   She was an inspiration. God used her sickness for His purposes – and He did so in a powerful and memorable way. (By the way, that was years ago and today my friend remains cancer free, but her faith is much stronger because of her ordeal, and she has a powerful testimony as well.)   Another reason God allows us to experience suffering and challenges is to remind us that this world is not our home. In this world there is sickness and suffering, but in heaven there will be none of that. When we experience trials and sufferings now, they simply serve to direct our thoughts to our God and to our future home. God will get us through this current situation, and eventually there will be no more “current situations.” In heaven, where this is all leading us, everything will be perfect. That’s what is waiting for us.   Adversity can serve to draw us closer to God and strengthen our faith as well. When that happens, it reminds us that we are never forsaken by God and His plan is good and perfect.   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 © 2026 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: “You are not alone”   Our Bible verse for today: “The mountains may move and the hills may disappear, but even then, my faithful love for you will remain.” Isaiah 54:10 (NLT)   Our thought for today: “God said, “It is not good”   Do you remember back in the early chapters of the book of Genesis as God was viewing His creation and He declared it all to be good? It reads like this: “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.” Genesis 1:31. Earth, sky, sun, moon, plants, trees, fish, animals, and man – God created it all and declared it all to be “good”. Do you know what was the very first thing in the Bible that God declared to be “not good”? It was loneliness. In Genesis 2:18 it says, “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone.”   Psychologists tell us that lonely people are less happy, less healthy, and they die younger than those who are not lonely. And here’s the really sad part – it’s not necessary for anyone to be lonely. Just because a person doesn’t have a spouse – or even a boyfriend or girlfriend, there is still no reason for that person to be lonely. First and foremost, God Himself is willing and able to provide a relationship that is closer, more intimate, and more deeply fulfilling than any relationship any of us will ever have with another person. In Hebrews 13:5, when the writer quoted God, “I will never leave you or forsake you“, he was simply repeating a truth that God had already expressed in multiple ways through numerous writers all throughout the Old and New Testaments.   There is no better antidote for loneliness than a close relationship with God, and one of the primary ways God manifests His love and His presence to us, and a way in which He counteracts the loneliness we might otherwise experience, is by placing us in a good church family. A healthy and close church family is the perfect place for an otherwise lonely person to find people who love and care about them and who are eager to spend time with them.   At Oak Hill Baptist there are a lot of things we don’t have. We don’t have big crowds, and we don’t have a fleet of church vans; we don’t have multi-million-dollar buildings, and we don’t have a preacher with big hair and a television show. But we do have something else that matters even more – we have a close-knit church family who truly loves and cares for one another. We have an entire church of people who are involved in each other’s lives, who spend time together, who help each other, who carry one another’s burdens, and they truly enjoy being together. I can’t count the number of times a church member has told me that this is the one feature of our church that matters most to them and for which they are most grateful.   As we learned in Genesis chapter two, it’s not good for us to be alone. If you are lonely, I want to encourage you to find companionship first in a close relationship with God and second, in a good church family. God’s love never fails and the place you should experience that love, caring, and companionship the most, is in a good church.   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 © 2026 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571