Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Take care of yourself”   Our Bible verse for today: “Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.” Genesis 25:8 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “Lessons from the blue zones”   The other day a friend from church paid me a high compliment. She was encouraging me to take good care of myself and she said, “We want you to live to be 105, like Ms. Teresa, and to still be preaching too! Ms. Teresa is a lady in our church who is 105 and she is as sharp and spry as can be. She is in Sunday school and worship service almost every Sunday, smiling, participating in lively discussions, and generally being a blessing to everyone she encounters. She still lives independently in her own home and she only stopped driving about ten years ago.   In 2008 National Geographic magazine commissioned researcher Dan Buettner to travel to the top four “blue zones” in the world (Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Loma Linda, California; and the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica). A blue zone is a region of the world where lots of people live healthy lives well into their 90s and 100s. The four zones mentioned have the highest concentration of healthy 90 and 100-year-olds anywhere in the world. Dan’s mission was to find out why. He ended up writing a fascinating book about it entitled “Blue Zones: Lessons for living longer from the people who’ve lived the longest.”   Dan discovered that there were multiple factors that seemed to contribute to longevity but there were a few that were common among all those who had lived long and well. The most common factors were faith, family, productivity, and moderation. In this devotional series we have already considered the impact that faith has on well-being. People with strong faith tend to be happier, better adjusted, and they experience less stress than those with no faith.   Healthy family relationships play a big role in overall well-being too, as does being productive (it is very important to live with a sense of meaning and purpose). Then there is moderation. Healthy people tend to exercise discipline in all areas of life including diet, exercise, sleep, number of hours spent working, and they avoid allowing others to place excessive demands on their time. Moderation in all things contributes to a more relaxed and less stressful life.   You may recall that we began this series by stressing the importance of maintaining a healthy balance in life between our physical, mental, and spiritual selves. God created us with a body, soul, and spirit and we must take care of all three parts of ourselves to be truly healthy. The better balance we maintain the healthier we will be and the longer we are likely to live.   Those are just a few lessons from the blue zones. I encourage you to read the book.   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: “Take care of yourself”   Our Bible verse for today: “Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the water; and you without silver, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without silver and without cost! Why do you spend silver on what is not food, and your wages on what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and you will enjoy the choicest of foods.” Isaiah 55:1-2 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Your best life ever”   So, what do you think, in Isaiah 55:1-2 was the prophet really writing about water, silver, wine, milk, and food? No, he wasn’t. It was a metaphor. It was an allusion to something else, something more important than food, wine, and money. In those verses Isaiah was painting a word picture for us. He was using physical symbols to illustrate a spiritual truth and it is this: Everything we need is found in Jesus. True joy and fulfillment in life comes from a rich and deep relationship with God, not from an abundance of material possessions.   In Isaiah’s word picture the one who is thirsty is spiritually thirsty. The water they receive is the Living Water (John 4:10), which satisfies their thirsty soul. Those without silver are not truly poor, because they have God (Matthew 6:33). And the choicest of foods is the Bread of Life (John 6:35).   Research consistently shows that Christians who are serious about their faith and who regularly practice the basic disciplines of the Christian faith have a higher quality of life and report more satisfaction in life than is true of the general population. One study, published in the British magazine “Premier Christianity” reported that on average, committed Christians reported being 20% more satisfied with their lives than did the general population. And that average held true across the range of quality indicators that were measured.   Another study by the Mayo clinic found that those who were serious about their faith consistently measured better in health outcomes including longevity, coping skills, health-related quality of life, and less anxiety, depression, and suicides.   The fact is that the best life you will ever have, is the one that is lived in a deep and rich relationship with God. And that will be true regardless of any of the other challenging and difficult factors or circumstances of life that might exist.   So, the lesson is this: trust Jesus; be a committed disciple of His; and then enjoy your best life ever. The best life any of us will ever have, is the one that is lived right in the middle of God’s will.     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: “Take care of yourself”   Our Bible verse for today: “Let your “yes” mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no’.” Matthew 5:37 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Be a man or woman of your word”   On June 24, 1978 Linda and I said “I do”. And then for more than forty-five years we did. Today would have been our forty-sixth wedding anniversary, our forty-eighth year as a couple. On that day in June 1978 when we said “I do” we were affirming that we would be true and faithful to each other through good times and bad, in times of prosperity and poverty, in sickness and in health, until death do we part. We kept that promise to each other right up until the moment Linda breathed her last breath and went to heaven on November 30, 2023.   We live in a society today where many people seem to believe promises are conditional and made to be broken. Once upon a time honesty and integrity were virtues that were highly valued, and men and women were judged based upon their proven dependability. “My word is my bond” was a claim the man or woman of integrity wanted to be able to make and mean. Sadly, that isn’t as true today as it once was.   In the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5:37, Jesus taught that you are to say what you mean, mean what you say, and keep your promises. Be a man or woman of your word.   What does this have to do with taking good care of yourself? A lot! For one thing, men and women of integrity tend to be much more settled and stable in life than do people who lie, cheat, and manipulate.  Additionally, people who are dishonest with others are always worried that others are being dishonest with them – and rightly so! What goes around comes around. Lie to others and others will lie to you. Break your word to them and they will break their word to you. That kind of a life produces stress and anxiety.   An honest person tends to be much more relaxed and assured, and that is certainly a more pleasant and healthier way to live. Also, if your spouse is a man or woman of integrity, and therefore a person who can be counted on to keep their word, that is a much better situation than to live with a dishonest schemer who you can’t really trust.   Honesty, integrity, and dependability are essential virtues for the person who wants to be mentally, emotionally, and spiritually healthy.  I encourage you to be a man or woman of your word, and then fill your life with others who are as 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: “Take care of yourself”

Our Bible verse for today: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he (Jesus) got up, went out, and made his way to a deserted place; and there he was praying.” Mark 1:35 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Don’t forget to take care of yourself too”

In the weeks after my wife Linda had a big stroke and then brain surgery, two things became apparent. One was that she was going to live. The second was that she was going to be very disabled. One day, when she was still in the rehab center, a counselor took me aside and explained how important it was going to be for me, Linda’s primary caregiver, to also take care of myself. She told me about how common it is for caregivers to get burned out because they are so focused on providing care for their loved one, that they neglect their own well-being. She stressed the truth that if I didn’t take good care of myself, I wouldn’t be able to take good care of Linda.

In the years that followed, I made it a point to follow that counselor’s advice. Fortunately for me, Linda was also very aware of and concerned about my well-being. She paid attention to how I was doing and she was always encouraging me to take a break and to do things to take care of myself.  

Caregiver burnout is a common problem, and good selfcare is the answer. But that’s true not just for those who are taking care of a sick loved one, it’s true for all of us. Good selfcare is a critical aspect in our effort to stay healthy physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. We need to pay attention to how we are doing. We have to be realistic about how much is enough and how much is too much in terms of how hard we push in life, and we need to give ourselves regular breaks.

Jesus did. In Mark 1:35 we read of just one of the occasions when Jesus took time for Himself. In a previous devotional in this series, which focused on a scene out of Mark 6:31-32, we read of a time when Jesus called a timeout from intense ministry, rounded up His entire group of disciples, and took everyone off to a remote place for a time of rest. And He did it while the crowds were still coming to them and there was still a lot of work to be done. Despite the pressing needs, Jesus and His disciples were exhausted and needed a break; and if they didn’t take that break, they would have become increasingly less effective the more tired they became.

Good selfcare is a crucial factor is staying healthy and being at our best. Take care of others, but be sure to take care of yourself 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

Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Take care of yourself”   Our Bible verse: “Isn’t this the fast I choose: To break the chains of wickedness, to untie the ropes of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to tear off every yoke?” Isaiah 58:6 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Take care of yourself by taking care of others”   In Isaiah 58:6-11 God gives us a prescription for making ourselves feel better. Here it is: “Take your eyes off of yourself and focus instead on taking care of other people.” It seems counterintuitive. When you’re feeling rotten your thoughts are on yourself not on others, and it is natural to believe we have to take care of ourselves first (sometimes that is the case and we will address that in the next devotional). But many times, the answer is to take your eyes off yourself and your own problems and focus instead on doing something for someone else. That’s the lesson of this passage.   God goes on in verse 7, “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your house, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to ignore your own flesh and blood?”   And how will the Lord bless you in return? Verses 8-10 tell us: “Then your light will appear like the dawn, and your recovery will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard. At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer; when you cry out, he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you get rid of the yoke among you, the finger-pointing and malicious speaking, and if you offer yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted one, then your light will shine in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday.”   And here is the conclusion of the matter in verse 11: “The Lord will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones. You will be like a well-watered garden and like a spring whose water never runs dry.”   It’s funny how this works. Bless others and you make yourself feel better. As therapy, psychologists and counselors will often urge a depressed person to get involved in volunteer work because as they are helping someone else, it will take their mind off of their own problems and they will feel better in the process.   It’s a tried-and-true Biblical fact that you also take care of yourself when you take care of others.   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: “Take care of yourself”   Our Bible verse for today: “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable – if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy – dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Think like Chuck Norris”   Do you like Chuck Norris? I like Chuck Norris. In fact, I want to be Chuck Norris. Seriously. Recently I even briefly enrolled in a Chuck Norris karate school. The style is American Tang Soo Do and it is the system taught by Chuck Norris. Unfortunately, the school was located forty miles away in another town and the classes didn’t even begin until 7:30 at night. That was too far to drive and it was too late at night for me. (That’s my excuse anyway and I’m sticking to it.)   Recently I also read Chuck’s autobiography. Did you know Chuck Norris is a strong Christian? He is. He will tell you his faith is the most important thing about him. His faith is foundational to who he is as a man. Another important character trait of his that’s foundational and which has gone a long way towards impacting the success he has had in life is that he is compulsive about positive thinking. Chuck learned a long time ago that our thoughts determine everything else about us. Our thoughts form our beliefs about ourself, about other people, and about the world. What we allow our minds to dwell on also determines not just what we think, but what we say and do (or what we don’t do).   That truth isn’t original with Chuck Norris. It’s the lesson the Apostle Paul taught two thousand years ago when he wrote Philippians 4:8. But it also wasn’t even original with Paul. The Proverbs of Solomon in the Old Testament are also filled with life-lessons regarding the importance of positive thinking.   Positive thinking is more than just important, it is powerful. More than seventy years ago Dr. Norman Vincent Peale wrote a great book titled, “The Power of Positive Thinking.” In the introduction to that book, he explained that for the Christian the power of positive thinking is “applied Christianity.” The Bible teaches us to think positively, and positive Biblical thinking is one of the greatest powers we as aa Christian have available to us.   Chuck Norris will tell you that his karate skills are not the most important factor to his success in life. His faith and his positive thinking are more important. He has spent decades nurturing his faith and growing as a Christian. He has also trained his mind to think positive thoughts and to expect positive results.   We would all do well to think like Chuck Norris.   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: “Take care of yourself”   Our Bible verse for today: “Don’t make friends with an angry person, and don’t be a companion of a hot-tempered one, or you will learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.” Proverbs 22:24-24 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Sometimes toxic people need to go”   I think maybe you are going to thank me for this. You need to know that God gives us permission to remove toxic people from our lives. Actually, it’s more than permission. God instructs us to do it. Toxic people steal our joy and they have a negative impact on our mental, emotional, and even spiritual health.   We often wrongly assume that putting-up with toxic people is “the Christian thing to do.” But that’s wrong. The Christian thing to do is to hold them accountable for their conduct. The Christian thing to do is rebuke them, correct them, give them an opportunity to change their ways, and then, if they will not change, show them the exit sign out of your life. I could easily cite several dozen Bible verses to prove that, but I only have room to offer you a few:   “Drive out a mocker, and conflict goes too; then quarreling and dishonor will cease.” Proverbs 22:10   “The one who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid someone with a big mouth.” Proverbs 20:19   “A contrary person spreads conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.” Proverbs 16:28   “The one who walks with the wise will become wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm.” Proverbs 13:20   “Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals.” 1 Corinthians 15:33   “Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him.” Titus 3:10   There are many more but that’s enough; God’s point is clear. Toxic people are bad news and sometimes they need to go.   Obviously, this requires discernment and good judgment. We can’t just be shutting people out of our lives without even trying to resolve the problems. That’s especially true if they’re family. But it’s also true that you don’t have to put-up with it endlessly, nor should you. Toxic people are exactly that – they’re toxic. That means that they poison relationships and harm other people. They could be harming you and having a negative impact on your mental, emotional, and spiritual health.   Try to resolve the issues if you can. But if you try and they won’t comply, then take the steps necessary to avoid them, or to remove them from your life altogether. Sometimes toxic people need to go.   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: “Take care of yourself”   Our Bible verse for today: “God has made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated.” Ecclesiastes 7:29 (Good News Bible, British Version)   Our thought for today: “Less is more”   I love the Brits. Sometimes they can be so matter-of-fact, straight-forward, and blunt. Take their translation of Ecclesiastes 7:29 in the Good News Bible for instance, “God has made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated.” I love it! And it is so true! We make our own lives so complicated! And we do so to our own detriment.   This morning, I want to continue our thinking from yesterday by returning to the book of Ecclesiastes. King Solomon had it all in life. He was the king. He was fabulously wealthy. He had absolute authority and control over every person in the kingdom and over every resource. Nothing was denied to him. And so, he tried it all. He worked hard and built a life of amazing achievements, and he also partied like a rock star, denying himself no pleasure.   But there is a world-weary tone that runs throughout all twelve chapters of Ecclesiastes. The book was written towards the end of Solomon’s long life and as he looked back, he realized it had all been so much folly. He ended up regretting much of what he had done and he considered much of his life to have been wasted. And in the end what did he conclude? “Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands for this is everyone’s duty.”   As Pastor Chuck Swindoll once wrote, “We find in Ecclesiastes a worldview tempered by experience and ultimately seen through divinely colored lenses.”   Yes, that’s it right there. Solomon’s purpose in writing the book of Ecclesiastes was to point us to a better, simpler life focused on God and others. From his own experience he learned that not only do we not need a busy, complicated life filled with excessive possessions, endless activities, demands, pressures, and a constant striving for more, more, more, but such a life ultimately ends up empty and sad.   It has often been said that “less is more.” That means that sometimes simpler is better. The more extraneous stuff we strip out of life, the better our quality of life becomes.   God has made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated. It’s true, but we can fix that. For better physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health, I encourage you to consider taking some steps today to simplify your life. You will be happier if you do. Less is often more.   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: “Take care of yourself”   Our Bible verse for today: “So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” Ecclesiastes 2:17 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “Are you working yourself to death?”   When we read the book of Ecclesiastes it’s important to read it with the end in mind. Read chapter twelve first, then go back and start in chapter one verse one. Solomon’s objective was to help his readers see that many of the things we become compulsive about in life are relatively meaningless in the end, and in the process, we often neglect the most important things (God, family, health).   But that doesn’t really become clear until the end of the book, and if you don’t know where he is heading with all this, as you come across thoughts like that in 2:17 it can seem dark, pessimistic, and even hopeless. But that’s not the message Solomon was really trying to send. Instead, he was trying to help us set good priorities and to keep things in their proper perspective. With respect to his observation in 2:17 regarding work, the fact is that the rest of the Bible helps us to understand that work is important not meaningless. We should have a job to support ourselves and our families, and we should work hard and do a good job. We just shouldn’t become compulsive about our work.   In Japan the entire culture has an unhealthy work ethic. The Japanese are so fixated on working hard, producing excellent results, and showing absolute loyalty to the company or employer, that they make themselves sick over it. They even kill themselves over it. The term for this malady of overworking is “Karoshi” and it refers to sudden death or suicide caused by overwork or occupational stress. It has been a problem in Japanese society for decades. Each year thousands of people literally drop dead at work, or commit suicide because of work-related stress. Many thousands of others are suffering from multiple health issues related to the stress and strain of overworking.     It’s a problem in our society too. Work is important. We should work, and we should do a good job. But the truth is that if you were to die today your company will be taking steps to replace you tomorrow. So, don’t sacrifice your health on the altar of work. Work hard and do a good job, but also maintain the proper balance. Don’t let your job kill you.   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: “Take care of yourself”   Our Bible verse for today: “Youths may become faint and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:30-31 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Place yourself in a position before God …”   In Isaiah 40:30-31 Isaiah paints a verbal picture of how refreshing and rejuvenating it is for our souls when we come and place ourselves in a position before God whereby the Holy Spirit can minister to us. He says that even youths and young men (who are typically full of strength and energy), even they will become weak and will stumble. It happens to all of us – even to the strongest and most able. However, Isaiah was not really talking about physical strength. That was a metaphor for mental, emotional, and spiritual strength.   Anyone of any age who will come before the Lord will find themselves renewed and refreshed. In other words, you will discover that the stress and pressure ebbs away; a sense of peace washes over you; and soon you are feeling mentally, emotionally, and spiritually refreshed. That happens when we stop stressing and striving and trying to deal with everything in our own strength, and we instead fall on our knees and lay it all before the Lord. Then He ministers to our weary soul. This is why, in Philippians 4:13, the Apostle Paul wrote “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”   The best and fastest way to place yourself in a position before the Lord so that He can minister to your weary soul is in individual prayer, Bible reading, and listening to uplifting Christian music. You can do that virtually anywhere at anytime and therefore it is always available to you.   But another important way in which we place ourselves in a position before the Lord is by gathering with our church family every Sunday for Sunday school, worship, and fellowship. In a good church, the atmosphere is spiritually rich. When groups of mature Christians come together, all bringing their own deep and rich relationship with the Lord and adding it to the group dynamic, it is a spiritually charged environment. The combined spiritual factor is often much greater than what we can experience alone. Therefore, this is one of the times when the Lord typically speaks to us the loudest and clearest.   I encourage you to place yourself in a position before God whereby He can minister to your soul. A good way to do that is by gathering with your church family this Sunday. That is one of the best things you can do to take care of yourself mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Research consistently shows that those who are regular church attenders are, on average, happier, better adjusted, and they report being more satisfied with life overall than those who do not attend church on a regular basis.   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