Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “The Great Adventure”   Our Bible verse for today: “I appeal to you to show kindness to my child, Onesimus. I became his father in the faith while here in prison. Onesimus hasn’t been of much use to you in the past, but now he is very useful to both of us.” Philemon 1:10-11 (NLT)   Our thought for today: “Grace, kindness, forgiveness, and second chances”   I love the little letter of Philemon, found near the end of the New Testament. It was written by the Apostle Paul while he was being held as a prisoner in Rome. The recipient, Philemon, was evidently a wealthy landowner or businessman who Paul had led to faith in Christ and discipled. Philemon had a slave by the name of Onesimus who had run away and perhaps even stolen money or something of value from Philemon.   At some point, Onesimus ended up in Rome, encountered Paul, came to faith in Christ, and became a trusted assistant to Paul. Paul then convinced Onesimus that he had to return to his master, Philemon, face the consequences of his actions, and attempt to make things right. The purpose of Paul’s letter was to inform Philemon that Onesimus was now more than just a returning runaway slave, he was a brother in Christ and should be treated accordingly. Paul urged Philemon to deal with Onesimus with grace, kindness, forgiveness, and to give him a second chance.   One of the most heartwarming situations we encounter on this adventure of living the Christian life are the stories of redemption and reconciliation we see all throughout Christianity. Every one of us was at one time a wayward sinner who needed to be forgiven by God and by others. Beyond that, even after salvation, we have all strayed and sinned (against God and others) and therefore we have all needed second, third, and fourth chances.   I love stories about a truly transformed person who has turned his or her life around and who becomes a showcase for the difference Jesus makes in a life. And I also love the other side of the story – the actions of people like Paul and Philemon who extend second chances and who welcome back the runaway slave (or the wayward sinner).   The adventure of living the Christian life is all about second chances. It is a story that is filled with grace, kindness, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Whose forgiveness do you need to seek? And to whom should you be extending it?   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: “The Great Adventure”   Our Bible verse for today: “Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.” Romans 12:12 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “How will you choose to deal with it?”   This morning, I want to return us to our thought from yesterday regarding choosing joy. There’s an old saying that is sometimes attributed to Buddha, but which is certainly a Biblical principle too, that “pain is inevitable but suffering is optional.” It means that in this life we will all have painful moments – many times and in many ways, that’s just life. We can’t always choose whether or not we will be hurt, but we can choose how we respond to it. You can give into it and wallow in misery, or you can rise above it and live well in spite of it.   In his book, “The Spartan Way: Eat Better; Train Better; Think Better; Be Better” life coach and personal trainer Joe DeSena wrote, “Life is tough; therefore, you have to be tougher. You cultivate toughness by facing challenges and dealing with them, not by turning away.”   In other words, we must be intentional about facing the difficult times in life and doing what we can to overcome them. That’s what Paul was writing about in Romans 12:12. He was calling for intentionality. You choose to rejoice and to have hope. You choose to be patient as you deal with affliction. You choose to be persistent in prayer. Developing a hopeful, optimistic, and even joyful approach to life is a learned behavior. It is intentionally cultivated by doing it.   How do we do it? By establishing discipline in our life. We do it by developing a pattern of thinking and living that keeps us immersed in positive uplifting influences and which also keeps us active in meaningful ministry activities. Paul addresses the importance of meaningful ministry in the very next verse, “Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality.” Those two thoughts are connected. Verse 12 leads to verse 13. One way to rejoice in hope, and to be patient in affliction and persistent in prayer, is to take your eyes off yourself and serve others.   The way to achieve what Paul described in Romans 12:12 is to do things like pray, read your Bible, faithfully attend church services, listen to uplifting Christian music, surround yourself with encouraging Christian friends, read good Christian books, and take your eyes off yourself and instead serve others in need. Those are intentional actions we decide to engage in and we do so habitually.   The attitude you have while on this great adventure of living the Christian life is your choice. Whether you wallow in misery and despair or move forward in victory and with hope is up to you. Pain is inevitable, it’s just part of life. But how much you suffer from it is largely up to you. It will depend on how you choose to deal with it.     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: “The Great Adventure”   Our Bible verse for today: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines; though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls, yet I will celebrate in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! The Lord my Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights!” Habakkuk 3:17-19 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Look for the good”   Henri Nouwen was a Dutch Catholic priest who lived in the mid-late 1900s (he died in 1996). Henri was an out-of-the-box priest and sometimes, something of a renegade. For a while he served as a missionary priest among the poorest of the poor in South America. On the other end of the spectrum, he also spent years as a professor of religion at Harvard and he is the author of many very good books about living the Christian life. Henri also spent the last years of his life living and working among developmentally disabled adults.   In his many books Henri revealed that he struggled with doubts about himself, with insecurities, loneliness, sometimes doubts about his faith, and more. He also struggled with depression. However, he was also at the same time an upbeat person who was always finding ways to help and encourage others. Of that seemingly inconsistent struggle between high and low, depressed but upbeat, he once wrote, “In the midst of the sorrows is consolation, in the midst of the darkness is light, in the midst of the despair is hope, in the midst of Babylon is a glimpse of Jerusalem, and in the midst of the army of demons is the consoling angel.”   The adventure of living the Christian life is not a straight and level journey. Instead, it consists of highs and lows, majestic mountaintops bathed in sunlight, and deep dark valleys that are threatening and difficult. Henri’s point was that even in the deepest and darkest valleys of life there is evidence of God’s presence and comfort, and there is the opportunity for joy even in the sadness and despair.   The Old Testament prophet Habakkuk certainly discovered that to be true. Times were tough for him and his fellow Jews. The people were unfaithful to God, the powerful army of Babylon was poised to invade, the Jews were on the edge of disaster, and they knew it. But in 3:17-19 Habakkuk declared that he was going to continue looking to God and trusting Him no matter what – and regardless if others did or not. Habakkuk was determined to find joy and goodness in the sadness and evil.    No matter what you are going through at this point in your life, God is with you and He is faithful. There is good to be found in the bad, there is light in the darkness, and there can be joy in the sorrow. I encourage you to look for it.   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: “The Great Adventure”   Our Bible verse for today: “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one now restraining will do so until he is out of the way, and then the lawless one will be revealed.” 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “You are making a difference”   In recent devotionals I have encouraged you to resolve to simply do the next right thing, and then to keep doing that moment-by-moment, situation-by-situation, day-by-day, and don’t stop doing so. Don’t get discouraged and don’t give up. Your persistence and perseverance are more important and makes more of a difference than you might realize.   In chapter two of 2 Thessalonians the Apostle Paul was writing about the antichrist and the spirit of the antichrist in the world. The antichrist will be an actual person who makes his appearance on the world stage in the end times. But the spirit of the antichrist is the spirit of evil at work in the world. In 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 Paul explains that the spirit of the antichrist is here and is at work in the world, but there is also restraint being applied to that evil spirit. However, at some point in the future the restraint will be removed and then the actual antichrist (the lawless one) will appear.   What Paul is describing in this passage is the truth that the Holy Spirit is now restraining the evil of Satan in the world, and He is doing it through the work and ministry of the followers of Jesus Christ. You have the Holy Spirit living in your heart. He is working in you and through you. As you bless people in the name of Jesus, as you share the Good News of the Gospel with them, as you live by Biblical principles and set a good godly example, the evil of Satan is restrained, pushed back, held back, and often defeated.   The day will come (at the time of the rapture) when the saints of God will be removed from this world and the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit will stop. At that time all hell will literally break loose in the world. But until then, Satan is being opposed and held in check and you and I are the instruments of ministry the Holy Spirit is using to accomplish that.   You are making a meaningful difference right there in your little corner of the world simply by being you and by being faithful. As much as it might seem as if evil is prevailing, that is much less the case than it would be if you were not right there where God has you and where the Holy Spirit is using you.   Just continue being you. Continue doing the next right thing. Live by Biblical principles, bless people, and share the Good News of the Gospel. You are making more of a difference than you realize. Keep at it and don’t give up.    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: “The Great Adventure”   Our Bible verse for today: “Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.” Galatians 6:9 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Do good and don’t give up”   This morning, I want to share with you another great quote from Congressman Dan Crenshaw’s book, “Fortitude”: “One thing that makes for greatness is determination – a willingness to persist in the same direction over the long haul and to stay with it, whatever the cost. Success in life plays out long-term.”   That statement certainly applies to living the Christian life well. Those who grow strong and remain faithful are those who persist in doing the right thing for Jesus, day-in and day-out, regardless of obstacles, opposition, discouragement, or disappointment. This is important because we live in a tough world and the forces of evil are opposed to the spread of the kingdom of God on earth. They opposed Jesus and they oppose His followers too.   The answer for us, every day and in every situation, is to be faithful. Do what you know to be good and right, and keep doing it. That was Paul’s message to his readers in Galatians 6:9 – do good things for the kingdom, don’t let anything stop you. In due season it will make a difference if you refuse to give up.   Pastor and author Eugene Peterson once referred to such an attitude as “A long obedience in the same direction.” What he meant is that our approach to the Christian life must be one of determined persistence. That refers to the basic practices of discipleship like daily quiet time, Bible study, church attendance, etc., we do those things over-and-over again, day after day because it is the right thing to do and we need it. But that attitude also pertains to hanging in there and just doing the right thing, living the right way, day-in and day-out. Don’t stop, don’t get discouraged, don’t give in, and don’t give up.   This too is part of living the great adventure of the Christian life. It’s a life of persistence and perseverance. It is a lifestyle that doesn’t stop and doesn’t give up.   I encourage you to reaffirm your resolve to do good for the cause of Christ. Don’t give in and don’t give up.   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: “The Great Adventure”   Our Bible verse for today: “This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone.” Titus 3:8 (NLT)   Our thought for today: “A good church is an essential part of your adventure”   Over this past year, I have adopted a new resolution – a firm resolution – that I will not waste precious time or emotional energy engaging in political, social, cultural, or theological debates. Especially not on Facebook. Our society is so divided on those issues that the debates amount to little more than people shouting into their echo chambers. Maybe it makes them feel better to have had their say, and maybe others who already think like them are encouraged and cheer them on, but mostly it’s all noise that changes nothing.   It’s not that I am checked-out. Exactly the opposite is true. I am more involved and more engaged than ever before. It’s just that I have resolved to focus my full attention on preaching, teaching, and writing about the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith, and helping people to see how to apply that solid doctrine to everyday life. My goal is to help those who are already Christians to be confident and strong as we stand against the cultural onslaught we’re facing every day. I’m not going to debate anything with anyone.  I’m simply going to declare truth exactly as God gave it to us in the Bible.   That is what the Apostle Paul was calling Titus to do in Titus 3:8. Paul also gave similar instruction to another pastor, Timothy, in 2 Timothy 4:1-4, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom: Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage the people of God with good teaching. For a time will come when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.”   Paul was teaching Titus and Timothy how to have a strong church. The key was teach, preach, and practice sound doctrine.   This morning, I want to encourage you to be fully involved in the life of a good church – a church that teaches and practices sound doctrine. This is important because there are many churches in our day that are not sound. They teach a watered-down faith that amounts to little more than easy-believism. A good church that teaches and practices the sound doctrines of the historical Christian faith is an essential part of your adventure of living the Christian life.   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: “The Great Adventure”   Our Bible verse for today: “But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king.” Daniel 1:8 (NLT)   Our thought for today: “Just do the next right thing”   Did you know that there are only two major figures in the Bible to produce a completely positive record of their actions? It was Jesus in the New Testament and Daniel in the Old Testament. It won’t surprise you to learn that the record of Jesus is totally positive, but it is also true of Daniel too. Of course, Daniel was a flawed human being just like you and me and so he did sin. But the Bible records only positive things about him. That’s because he was a man of very high integrity and he lived a life that honored God – even in the middle of a wickedly evil culture.   Daniel modeled for us how to serve God faithfully in the middle of a culture that was extremely ungodly, and he did so at great risk and cost to himself. His obedience to God brought him into conflict with some of the most powerful people in that society, and more than once it almost cost him his life. But Daniel’s faith was such that he was confident and strong in the face of opposition, persecution, and injustice.   But that was then, this is now. Daniel lived three thousand years ago in a different time, in a different country, and in a very different culture. Does his example really apply to us today? Yes. Yes, it does. Biblical principles of honesty, integrity, righteousness, and courage are timeless and they apply to all people, in all places, and at all times.   I find Daniel’s example to be inspiring. Likewise, I have long admired and been inspired by the example of William McRaven. As a four-star Admiral, he was one of the highest-ranking SEALs in the history of the U.S. Navy. He is a courageous warrior, a man of strong faith, and he is a man of impeccable character and integrity. In his book, “The Wisdom of the Bullfrog: Leadership Made Simple (but not easy)” Admiral McRaven wrote, “Do the right things for the right reasons. Be noble when others are unprincipled; be honorable when others are shameless; live above the common level of life.”   That is one of the hallmarks of great men and women – they have the character, integrity, and courage to do the right thing, in the right way, and for the right reasons, and they do so regardless of the opposition they encounter from those around them.   As the people of God in the USA in our day, we live in an increasingly lost and wicked culture. This is a difficult time to openly and unapologetically live by and advocate for Biblical principles. But we can and we must. Daniel did it in his day and we can do it in ours.   In every situation you face today I encourage you to have the faith and the courage to simply do the right thing. Moment-by-moment and situation-by-situation just resolve to do the next right thing.   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: “The Great Adventure”   Our Bible verse for today: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “What kind of person will you be?”   This morning, I want to take us back to the quote I cited yesterday from Congressman Dan Crenshaw in his book, “Fortitude”: “We have to figure out who we want to be; not just what we want to do, but who we want to be. When we decide who we want to be we are identifying the character traits that we want to have define us.”   Yes, we have to decide who we want to be (or what we want to be like), and then we have to do the things necessary to become like that. How we see ourselves and how we want to become, and then what we decide to do about that, goes a long way towards determining the kind of person we will be. And it does have to be intentional. It requires a decision and action on our parts.   In Galatians 5:19-23 the Apostle Paul created a stark contrast designed to illustrate this very point. In verses 19-21 he wrote, “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar.” Then in verses 22-23 he listed the fruit of the Spirit. Two different lifestyles, two different outcomes, two different kinds of people.   Have you ever had the pleasure of knowing someone whose life overflowed with the fruit of the Spirit and those virtues just seem to radiate out of them? How do you suppose he or she became that way? It was by means of an intentional decision to develop a life of discipleship to the Lord Jesus Christ. Those are character traits the Holy Spirit develops in us and then brings out of us because the person continuously places him or herself in a position before God, every day, whereby the Spirit can mold and shape them, growing them in spiritual maturity and making them more like Jesus.   An essential part of the adventure of living the Christian life is growing in spiritual maturity and progressively becoming more and more like Jesus. So, what kind of person do you want to be? And then, what are you doing to help bring that about?   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: “The Great Adventure”   Our Bible verse for today: “In everything set them an example by doing what is good …” Titus 2:7 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “What kind of example are you setting?”   I believe the year was 1993. I was serving as the part-time Minister of Education at Hilltop Baptist Church in Chula Vista, CA. One Sunday we had a visit from a couple who were sent to us from the California Baptist Convention. Jim was a former pastor. His wife Kay was in failing health and had suffered a series of debilitating health issues that left her confined to a wheelchair. But they had a wheelchair-modified van and together Jim and Kay traveled the state of California on behalf of the California Baptist Convention, visiting and encouraging churches.   There was something about that couple that deeply impacted Linda and I. The obvious deep love Jim and Kay shared, and the way they handled Kay’s disabilities with dignity, grace, and a positive can-do spirit, moved us. We shared a meal with them that day and we had a little follow-up correspondence with them in the months following, and we never forgot their example. Little did Linda and I know that fourteen years later, in 2007, Linda would suffer a stroke and undergo brain surgery that would leave her seriously disabled for the last seventeen years of her life. But when that did happen, we both remembered Jim and Kay and we resolved that we were going to strive to handle our situation like they handled theirs. Their example became an inspiration and guide for us.   In his book “Fortitude” Congressman Dan Crenshaw, a combat-wounded Navy Seal wrote this, “We have to figure out who we want to be; not just what we want to do, but who we want to be. When we decide who we want to be we are identifying the character traits that we want to have define us.”   Linda and I saw something in Jim and Kay that we wanted to be true of us too. So, we strived to follow their example. Years later God would bring another couple into our lives with a similar story and who set a similar example – Steve and Jacki Tate. When we met them, Jacki had been battling cancer for close to fifteen years and was within a couple of years of the end of her life. Steve cared for Jacki the way Jim had cared for Kay, and they approached it with the same great attitude. Steve and Jacki’s example was inspiring for Linda and I at the very time we needed it, just as Jim and Kay’s had been years earlier.   As was noted in yesterday’s devotional, sometimes the adventure of living the Christian life is not fun. Life is filled with adversity and challenges. How we handle those hard times matters, and others notice. God can use your example as a means of teaching, encouraging, and inspiring others.   I encourage each of us to consider what kind of an example we are setting for others. Let’s make sure it’s a good one.   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: “The Great Adventure”   Our Bible verse for today: “Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Changed and getting better”   The other night I had dinner with a man I have been visiting in prison for more than five years. However, this time we were in a restaurant in Crossville, rather than in the visitor’s center of the prison. He is a free man – out of prison and ready to putt his life back together. He is middled-aged now and has had a lifetime of substance abuse, crime, and time in jails and prisons. But that was then, this is now. He is a changed man.   During this stint in prison my friend truly surrendered his life to Christ. He became involved in Bible studies; attended multiple worship services every week; and he became a certified “Peer Recovery Counselor” with a paid job in the prison serving as a counselor to other prisoners who were attempting to overcome substance abuse and turn their lives around. Also, our church paid his tuition so he could participate in a special correspondence Bible college program. He has now completed more than two-thirds of his Associates Degree in Biblical Studies and he will continue that course of study now that he is out of prison.   My friend has turned his life around. But like the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:12-14 (above) he will be the first to tell you that he is far from perfect. He is not perfect but he is changed, and he is headed in the right direction, and he is getting a little bit better every day. There’s a lot of truth in the old saying, “I know I’m not yet the man I should be, but thank God I’m no longer the man I used to be.”   That truth pertains to all of us. None of us are perfect. We are all works in progress. If we’re doing it right, then every day we grow a little more in our spiritual maturity and therefore, we are a little better today than we were yesterday. But still, none of us has arrived yet. Not one of is the person we are intended by God to be and we won’t be that person until the day we arrive in heaven.   An important part of the adventure of living the Christian life is the never-ending opportunity for spiritual growth – to be just a little better today than you were yesterday.   We will think more about this in the days to come. For this morning, spend some time reflecting on what you used to be like and how much the Holy Spirit has changed you. Then give God thanks for the changes He has made in you. You may not be perfect, but you should be changed and getting better. It’s part of the adventure of living the Christian life.     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