Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Renewed hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 (NLT)   Our thought for today: “Life is short, live it well”   Having just turned seventy, I have recently begun my eighth decade on earth. On the one hand, seventy years seems like a long time and I feel like I have done a lot of living in that time. But on the other hand, I look back and I wonder where the years went. They seem to have flown by.   The truth is that even if we live 70, 80, or 90 years, it’s a relatively short time and our life will be over before we know it. But a life isn’t accurately measured just in terms of longevity, but in quality. The question isn’t simply how long you have lived but rather, what you have done with the time you had. Some people live a long time and basically just exist. They put in their time on earth, take up space, consume resources, and then they’re gone, having made little difference for good. Then there are others who live a shorter time but who have lived in such a way that their presence in this world made a notable difference and they left behind an inspiring legacy.   The lesson from Scripture is that life is short and we must resolve to live it well. We have limited time available to make a meaningful difference in this world. So, it’s foolish to waste the days of our lives doing things that don’t really matter, while leaving people and things that do matter unattended to.   You don’t have to find a cure for cancer, or be a famous movie star, or a millionaire. Just live each day by honoring Jesus and blessing others. Make a difference by making the lives of those you interact with every day a little better.     With respect to our theme of finding a sense of renewed hope – when you know you are living well and your life is making a positive difference in lots of little ways, you will have hope for each day. You will have a purpose for living.   Take a few minutes today to consider the ways in which your life makes a difference. If you are having trouble with this, please let me know and I will be happy to send you a copy of my little book “Your Life Matters.” It will help you to see that your life does matter and you can make a positive difference for good.   If you are living for Jesus and if you are honoring Him and blessing others in lots of little ways, your life is making a meaningful difference. Life is short, I encourage you to live it well.   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: “Renewed hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?” Job 38:2 (NLT)   Our thought for today: “He is God, and that’s enough”   If you are familiar with the story of Job then you know that his is the classic story of a man who suffered in unimaginable ways for seemingly inexplicable reasons. Job himself didn’t understand what was happening and why.   For the most part, through it all Job did pretty good. His faith remained intact and he didn’t allow the ridiculous counsel of his three misguided “friends” to confuse him further. But still, Job did do his share of complaining and questioning. Not that I blame him. I would have too. And under similar circumstances, you probably would as well. Job’s complaints about his circumstances and his questions about why it was all happening were simply expressions of his grief and suffering, and they were perfectly natural.   So, we wonder why, when God finally does begin speaking in chapter thirty-eight, He is so hard on Job. In those chapters God gives Job a pretty stern talking-to. And even when Job begins to back away from his complaining and questioning, God doesn’t quickly let up on him. Why?   I believe there were two reasons God was so hard on Job in these chapters. The first was to snap him out of it. Grief, sorrow, and questioning certainly are understandable and they do have their place, but if that goes on for too long it becomes emotional quicksand and we can become mired in feeling sorry for ourselves.   Second, there was an important lesson for Job (and for us) to learn from all this: “God is God, and sometimes that has to be enough.” In other words, God is sovereign and I am not. God is all-knowing and I am not. God has all the wisdom of the universe, and I do not. God is God and I am not.   That means that there is much about God and His ways that I am completely incapable of understanding. God illustrates this point over-and-over again throughout these ending chapters with questions like, “Who is this who questions my wisdom with ignorant words?” (38:2) and, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” (38:4)   Sometimes there will be no good answers to why we are experiencing whatever it is that has happened. Therefore, we won’t be at peace and we won’t find renewed hope until we come to the point where we simply accept the fact that He is God, and that’s enough.     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: “Renewed hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he saves those crushed in spirit. One who is righteous has many adversities, but the Lord rescues him from them all.” Psalm 34:18-19 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted”   Psalm 34:18-19 is a great promise that we can all embrace and claim as our own – “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted.” But who are the brokenhearted? Well, that’s us, you and me. At different times, in different ways, and for different reasons, we are all brokenhearted in some way. Some are in deep distress, perhaps mourning the death of a loved one. Others may simply have a low-grade sadness that might not be overpowering but which never fully goes away either. And others are somewhere on the sliding scale of sorrow.   At any given point, virtually everyone has something going on in his or her life that they wish was not there, and which is causing them some amount of concern and sorrow. Yes, this pertains to all of us. And for that reason, we all need the Lord – all the time. As the Apostle Paul reminds us, He is the God of all comfort. This is what the Psalmist was referring to in Psalm 34:18-19 and we read it again in Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble.”   However, seldom is the Lord’s comfort an overwhelming sense of immediate relieve. Sometimes it is, but more often it is subtle and less obvious and comes upon us slowly. His comfort and peace sustain us and helps us to keep on keeping on, and sometimes that does happen fast, but usually it comes out of what Pastor Eugene Peterson once referred to as “a long obedience in the same direction.” By that he meant that as faithful disciples of Christ, we continue to place ourselves in a position before Christ whereby the Holy Spirit can quietly and gently minister to our souls. We pray and read the Bible, we listen to worship music and we gather with fellow Christians, we serve in ministry and we do all the things that constitute the basic disciplines of the Christian life. And we do them whether we feel like it or not and even if it doesn’t feel like it’s making a big difference in that moment.   Placing ourselves before the Lord like that is simply the right thing to do, always. And so, we do it. It is a long obedience in the same direction. And out of that comes a developing sense of peace and comfort from the Lord. It’s in this way that we come to realize that He is indeed near to the brokenhearted (us).   When we are suffering or struggling (in big ways or in small), we want it to be better now. Immediately. Dramatically. Now. But usually, feeling better happens over time. So, take it to the Lord and trust Him to minister to your hurting soul in His way and in His time.   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: “Renewed hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “Consider it great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Your suffering hurts but God has a plan”   Let’s be clear that when James writes that we should consider it “great joy” when we face serious trials in life, he did not mean that we should be happy that bad things are happening to us. If we consider his statement in the context of the rest of the verse, we realize what he means is that God can and will use our trials to make us stronger and better.   That still does not mean that the trial itself is a good thing, only that God can and will use it for our benefit if we let Him. This is essentially the same truth Paul taught in Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” God will reach into the middle of bad circumstances and bring good things out of it for those who belong to Him.   This is what Job was referring to in Job 23:10 when, writing about the eventual outcome of his own trials, he had faith that “when he has tested me, I will emerge as pure as gold.” In other words, Job knew that God could and would use the times of fiery trials as a refining process in his life and that he would emerge from it stronger and better.   Applied to your life and mine, we realize that bad things happen to all of us, but God can reach into those bad times and use them to make us better, stronger, and more mature. Like Job, we can come out of it refined and of greater use to God and to others.   When we are hurting and struggling, like Job we often don’t understand what’s happening or why. Resist the temptation to feel as if it all has to make sense to you, because often it won’t. Trust in the sovereignty and goodness of God and know that God will honor your faithfulness by using this trial to make you better and stronger. That then will give you a sense of renewed hope. Your suffering hurts but God has a plan.   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: “Renewed hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Luke 11:9-10 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Doing something is better than doing nothing”   Yesterday we thought about our responsibility to choose joy. We learned that the Bible directs us to make a decision and to initiate actions that will bring joy into our lives. I also referred to the seven decisions described by Andy Andrews in his book “The Traveler’s Gift.” They are seven decisions we can make and actions we can take that will greatly improve the quality of our lives. The fifth of those seven decisions, which we considered yesterday, is “Today I will choose to be happy.”   Now let’s think about the third of the seven decisions. It is “I am a person of action.” The underlying premise to all seven decisions is that we have personal responsibility for our own lives and there are things we need to be doing to solve our own problems and to make our life better. In the case of the third decision, we must resolve to do something rather than nothing. Be a person of action.   Doing something is almost always better than doing nothing. That’s also the lesson of Luke 11:9-10. We often apply that passage to the subject of asking God for things in prayer. While it does apply to prayer, the larger truth is much broader. Jesus is teaching us a general life principle designed to move us to action. Ask, but also seek and knock. In other words, do something.     When it comes to gaining a sense of renewed hope, there are actions we need to take to gain that renewed hope. It really is true that “All my problems become smaller when I confront them and do something about them.”   Here’s my personal summary of that third decision. These are Andy Andrew’s thoughts condensed and rephrased in my own words: “I am a man of action. I will not dwell in a pit of despair. I will not waste time regretting lost opportunities. I will take the action necessary to make my life better. When faced with a choice of doing something or doing nothing, I will choose to act. All my problems become smaller when I confront them and do something about them.”   Whatever trial or difficulty you are facing in your life today, I encourage you to do something about it. Your problems will become smaller when you confront them and do something about them.   God bless, Pastor Jim  (If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Renewed hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; shout for joy, all you upright in heart.” Psalm 32:11   Our thought for today: “Choose joy”   It’s rather striking how many verses in both the Old and New Testaments urge us to choose joy. Many of those verses and passages are directive, even commanding. Psalm 32:11 is one example, “Be glad … rejoice… shout for joy …” Philippians 4:4 is another, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”   Psalm 118:24 is a little less directive but the intent is the same, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Likewise, Philippians 4:6-7, “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”   The message is clear: choose joy. However, this implies a decision must be made and action must be taken for this to occur. We must want it and we must take action to achieve it. This is an important understanding because sometimes we act as if being joyful and finding renewed hope is something magical that God just makes happen for us – as if it requires no effort or action on our part.   But it does require effort and action on our part. If you want to feel better then you will have to do something about it. Pray about it; read the Bible; turn off the news and turn on uplifting Christian music; spend some time with positive and encouraging brothers and sisters. Feeling better will also require us to look for the good in each day and to celebrate it.   I have told you before about one of my favorite uplifting books, “The Traveler’s Gift” by Andy Andrews. In that book we are taught seven simple decisions we can make and renew every day to improve the quality of our lives. The fifth of the seven decisions is “I choose to be happy.” Here’s my personal version of that decision: “Happiness is a choice. I can choose to think thoughts and engage in activities that bring me joy. Life itself is a gift and I choose to live it with joy and to the fullest. I do not deny the reality of my situation, but I do deny the finality of it. This too shall pass. I choose to be happy.”   Adopt that mindset and a sense of renewed hope won’t be far behind. I encourage you to choose joy.   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: “Renewed hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)   Our thought for today: “This is the best thing you can do”   In Isaiah 26:3 the prophet was essentially channeling Solomon. What I mean is that Isaiah had momentarily departed from his usual pattern of prophecy and narrative to give us a short proverb. A proverb is a general life-principle that applies broadly, and which is not meant to be 100% specific in 100% of the cases 100% of the time.   That’s the case with Isaiah 26:3. It does not mean that God will keep you in a state of perfect, flawless peace as if you were floating on a cloud in heaven without a care for the rest of eternity. “Perfect peace” is a Hebrew phrase that means the same as “shalom.” In English “shalom” is translated simply as “peace” but in Hebrew the meaning is much deeper. In Hebrew “shalom” is a wish for the person to experience a rich, full, prosperous, and satisfying life. It is a wish for good health, strong relationships, and the blessings of God to be upon them. The greeting “shalom” is often repeated for emphasis as in, “Shalom, shalom!” In other words, “I wish you a double blessing!”   That’s the kind of peace Isaiah was referring to, and his meaning was that the best frame of mind you can achieve will come to you when your thoughts are focused on God. So, the more we keep our thoughts on Him, the more “shalom” we will experience, and the better life will be.   This isn’t new to us. We know this. Paul told us in Philippians 4:6-7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” And in Philippians 4:8, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”   Nothing you do will bring you more peace of mind and help you to achieve a renewed sense of hope more than keeping your mind fixed on Jesus.   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.

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Renewed hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “I cannot relax or be calm; I have no rest, for turmoil has come.” Job 3:26 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “You can cry, scream, shout, or wet your pants”   Grief is a normal and appropriate human emotion – especially in response to a great loss, and when a person has lost hope. Expressions of grief are appropriate and even needed. An expression of grief is an expression of your love for what you have lost – be that a loved one, a job, a dream, or whatever. It would be unnatural and unhealthy to not express grief over a great loss. That’s what Job was doing in Job chapter three.   This morning, I want us to continue our thinking from yesterday regarding the fact that it is okay to vent when something bad has happened and we have lost hope. You may remember that Job’s friend Eliphaz was not very helpful once Job starting venting. Instead, he started to lecture Job and tell him that his crying was an indication of weak faith. Eliphaz could not have been more wrong. Also, that was the wrong approach to take with someone in Job’s situation.   Pastor and grief counselor Bob Deits, in his book “Life After Loss: A practical guide to renewing your life after experiencing major loss,” tells the story of the time he was called by a family to help with a mother whose seven-year-old son had been killed in a tragic accident. The mother was beside herself with grief and there didn’t seem to be anything the family could do to comfort her. They had repeatedly reminded her that her son was in heaven and she would see him again one day. But such assurances didn’t seem to be helping.   When Bob arrived and assessed the situation, he asked everyone to leave the room and then he told the mother, “Your grief for your son is entirely appropriate and it is okay for you to express it in any way that is most helpful. You can cry, scream, shout, or wet your pants, I don’t care. Just go ahead and let it out.” At that point the woman laid her head on Bob’s shoulder and cried and cried and cried – until she couldn’t cry any more. Finally, she was emotionally spent, but she felt better. That was also the beginning of her recovery. She still grieved for her son, very much so, but she was also now on the long road to recovery from her loss.   Often, we will not begin to find renewed hope until we have thoroughly grieved whatever it was that caused us to lose hope to begin with. We shouldn’t be overly dramatic by making a big deal out of little losses, but if a loss of any kind is big enough to cause us to be despondent and to lose hope, then it is important enough to be grieved. And the best thing the rest of us can do to help someone recover a renewed sense of hope, is to simply let them grieve and vent. Be patient with them. Encourage them to get it all out so they can then begin the long road to recovery.    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: “Renewed hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “Doesn’t your reverence for God give you confidence? Doesn’t your life of integrity give you hope?” Job 4:6 (NLT)   Our thought for today: “Sometimes you just need to vent”   So, doesn’t your reverence for God give you confidence? Doesn’t your life of integrity give you hope? Well, yes. Yes, it does. But wait. Why were those questions asked to begin with? What was the context?   In the case of Job 4:6 those questions were posed by Job’s “friend” Eliphaz and they were not meant as a compliment, nor where they meant to encourage or help Job. Instead, he said them as an indictment. If you are familiar with Job’s story then you know that as chapter four opens, Job had suffered incredible losses. His ten children had all been killed, almost all his wealth had been stolen, and he was suffering terrible illnesses. Through it all he never lost his faith or trust in God and he never cursed God despite his great suffering.     But in chapter three he did give voice to his sorrow, to his frustrations, and to his tremendous grief. That is what Eliphaz was responding to with those questions. It was essentially the Old Testament version of “Job, don’t you love Jesus?” It was unkind and insensitive of Eliphaz to suggest that because Job was giving voice to his suffering, he must be spiritually weak. It was also ignorant. It showed that Eliphaz didn’t understand the true nature of suffering.   When bad things have happened, when we have lost hope and are struggling to find renewed hope, it is helpful to be able to talk about how we feel. Even if that amounts to crying and complaining and asking “why?” We also need to be around safe people who will listen without judging. If you read the early chapters of Job, you will find that when Eliphaz and his two friends heard about the tragedy that had struck Job, they immediately went to sit with him and mourn with him. They did so in silence, and that was exactly the right thing to do. Job just needed to vent and he needed a sympathetic friend to listen and not judge.   As we will read in tomorrow’s devotional, venting like Job did can be the beginning of finding renewed hope. Sometimes we just need a safe place to vent and safe people to listen.   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: “Renewed hope”   Our Bible verse for today: “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust Him.” Psalm 91:1-2 (NLT)   Our thought for today: “He is the God of all comfort”   Sometimes the beginning of renewed hope comes with a sense of being comforted in our time of distress. That’s what’s being described by the unknown writer of Psalm 91. During a time of what was apparently a season of great distress in his life, he sought the Lord and found a sense of comfort, relief, and safety. God does that for us. The Apostle Paul wrote about this great truth in 2 Corinthians 1:3 where he referred to God as “the God of all comfort.”   The truth is that God is always with us, but especially when we’re in the emotional valleys of life. Not only will He comfort us with a great awareness of His presence, but He will also shelter us. In other words, He gives us the sense of being cared for and protected. In Psalm 91 the Psalmist referred to Him as a place of shelter, refuge, and safety.   Jesus also spoke to this when He said in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”   The result of living in the shadow of the Almighty, of walking through life side-by-side with Jesus yoked to Him and living life with Him, is that we receive a sense of comfort and peace. It could very well be that our situation has not changed much and our problems may still exist, also the way forward may still be unclear. But our awareness of the Lord’s presence with us and the comfort and assurance that brings renews our courage and confidence. It gives us renewed hope that we are going to be okay.   Whatever it is you are facing today, I encourage you to face it with the Lord. Bring it to Him. Pray the verses of Psalm 91:1-2 back to Him. Claim the promise as your own and ask Him for that sense of comfort and renewed hope.   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