Don’t park in front of the donut shop

Good morning everyone,
 
Our theme for this month: “Sanctification”
 
Our Bible verse for today: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to all mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
 
Our thought for today: “Don’t park in front of the donut shop”
 
I read an interesting piece of advice the other day. It came from Reginald Ward in his book, “A Guide for Spiritual Directors.” The topic was guiding believers through the process of progressive sanctification, and helping them to develop lifestyles that are more consistent with what would be expected of a serious follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
The issue being discussed was temptation, and how to break free from the habitual patterns of sin that we all sometimes get stuck in. How do we break the pattern of sinful, bad, or unhealthy habits? Ward offers this advice, “Lengthen the space between offenses.” In other words, rather than focusing on the ultimate goal of having complete victory over this sinful, destructive, or unhealthy habit, focus instead on overcoming the temptation in this moment. Never mind if you will be able to resist the temptation tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or next year. Can you resist it today, in this moment? And the answer, of course, is yes, you can.
 
That’s what Paul was teaching in 1 Corinthians 10:13. God will give us the strength to resist the temptation now, in this moment. Then we can deal with the next moment of temptation when it arises tomorrow, or next week, next, month, or next year.
 
Just do what you need to do to resist it now. This moment is where you will find the grace and the strength to do it. Let tomorrow take care of itself. But you do have to do your part. You do have to intentionally avoid the situations that you know will potentially create temptations for you, and you must take the off-ramps out of situations as God shows them to you.
 
For instance, if you struggle with maintaining a healthy diet, and if donuts are one of your weaknesses, then when you’re looking for a parking spot at the strip mall do not park in front of the donut shop!  Do your part to stay out of situations that could tempt you.
 
Breaking bad habits happens one moment at a time. There is grace and strength found in each moment, but it is also incumbent on each of us to do our part by looking for the way out of the situation that God promised us will be there.
 
So, don’t park in front of the donut shop.
 
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

Worship nourishes your soul

Good morning everyone,
 
Our theme for this month: “Sanctification”
 
Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.” Romans 12:1 (NIV)
 
Our thought for today: “Worship nourishes your soul”
 
In his excellent devotional book, “A Year of Slowing Down: Daily Devotions for Unhurried Living,” Alan Fadling offers this insightful thought about the impact our Sunday morning corporate worship should have on the rest of our life Monday through Saturday:
 
“When we gather for worship, the most important thing happening is not just the amazing activity of a few trained and gifted leaders (preacher, singers, musicians) but the opportunity for us all to refresh our vision of God and respond to the goodness, beauty, and truth of this God we see more clearly. We learn to discern God’s presence and see that presence more truly so that we can respond with worship in all our moments.”
 
In other words, our times of corporate worship on Sunday morning should lead us into an encounter with God that is so profound and impactful, that it contributes to what Paul was calling for in Romans 12:1 – a Monday through Saturday lifestyle that is itself a profound act of worship.
 
Corporate worship, at its best, leads us into an encounter with God that we can then take with us into the rest of life. This contributes to the process of progressive sanctification and as a result, we will have grown just a little more in our spiritual maturity.
 
The story is told of the old deacon who encountered a fellow church member in the grocery store, but it was a church member who had not been in church for a long time. The deacon asked him why he had stopped coming to church and the man responded by saying, “I have been attending church for decades, singing the songs and listening to the sermons. But one day I realized I couldn’t even remember most of the songs I have sung, and I remember very few of the sermons I have heard. It was then that I decided I was wasting my time. So, I decided to just stay home and sleep late on Sunday mornings.”
 
To that the old deacon replied, “Well, I have been married for more than fifty years. My wife has prepared a good meal for me almost every night of those fifty years but honestly, I can’t remember most of them. However, each one of them nourished my body and if I had not eaten them, my body would have been withered and weak. The weekly worship services are like that. They nourish your soul, and if you aren’t getting that nourishment, your soul will be withered and weak.”
 
That’s a great illustration and it speaks of an important truth. Our corporate worship services are encounters with the Living God. They nourish our souls and keep us spiritually healthy. They lead us into an encounter with God that we can then take with us out into the rest of our Monday through Saturday life. I encourage you not to skip church. Worship nourishes your soul.
 
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
 
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Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

Absorbed into the ocean of God’s grace

Good morning everyone,
 
Our theme for this month: “Sanctification”
 
Our Bible verse for today: “But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” Romans 5:20 (NIV)
 
Our thought for today: “Absorbed into the ocean of God’s grace”
 
Whatever could Paul mean in Romans 5:20? The more sin there is, the more grace there is? How could that be? If God is unchanging then that must mean that His grace is and always has been total, perfect, and complete. There has always been as much of it as there will ever be. It cannot be that God’s grace grows in volume and quantity based upon the number of sins we commit. So, what then does Paul mean?
 
He means that as our sins are forgiven, our awareness of God’s grace and mercy increases. This is not about a change on God’s part but on ours. The forgiveness of sins causes us to be more aware of the magnitude of God’s grace.
 
One writer compared our sin to the brief flicker of the flame of a match, and God’s grace to the vast ocean. “If a spark can set the sea on fire, that will be the day that your sins will pollute his purity. If I drop a match into the ocean, there will not be breaking news about a fiery cataclysm. The faint sound of the flame extinguished is easily drowned out by the roar of the waves. When I bring my transgressions to the ocean of God’s mercy, the same thing happens.”
 
As we grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, it is our awareness of the magnitude of that grace that is growing. This is what the process of progressive sanctification achieves in us. As we mature spiritually, we gain a greater sense of who God is and what He is like. We begin to fathom the awesome extent of His grace and mercy. We realize that through the acts of confession and repentance, our sins and failures are easily absorbed by the ocean of God’s grace.
 
One mark of spiritual maturity is how quickly and often we acknowledge our sins, bring them to God in genuine repentance, and then leave them with Him knowing that we are forgiven.
 
Your sins and failures have been absorbed into the great ocean of God’s grace.
 
God bless,
Pastor Jim  
 
(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville
 
Copyright © 2024 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved.


Our mailing address is:
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You will soar on wings like an eagle

Good morning everyone,
 
Our theme for this month: “Sanctification”
 
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 40:20-31 (CSB)
 
Our thought for today: “You will soar on wings like an eagle”
 
I love the imagery of the passage we just read from Isaiah. There we read that even young men, who are typically considered to be strong with great stamina, sometimes grow faint and weary, they stumble and fall. But anyone who trusts in the Lord and who looks to Him will find their strength renewed, to the point of soaring through life like an eagle.
 
And we realize, of course, that this is not really about physical strength and stamina, but spiritual. This is about finding the will and the way to deal with the challenges and trials of life and to have victory over them. This is about character and determination and perseverance. It is about strong faith in God that lifts us up and carries us through.
 
The Apostle Paul found this to be true. As he wrote the letter to the Philippians he was an old man, imprisoned, probably close to being executed for his faith. He had lived a long and difficult life that often involved suffering and deprivation. And yet, as he wrote a letter that became the most upbeat and joyful book of the New Testament, he confidently declared this: “I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.” (4:13). Paul was old, sick, and close to dying, but spiritually he was soaring on wings like an eagle.
 
This is what long years of serious discipleship and progressive sanctification results in. It transforms you into a person who is strong and resilient – but not in your own power, in the Lord’s. He is the one who strengthens you and carries you.  
 
God wants you to have your best life – and He will help you to live it. He will help you and strengthen you; He will enable to face the challenges of life with faith and confidence. With Him, you will soar on wings like an eagle.
 
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

We all need our own Deuteronomies

Good morning everyone,
 
Our theme for this month: “Sanctification”
 
Our Bible verse for today: “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life.” Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NLT)
 
Our thought for today: “We all need our own Deuteronomies”
 
The purpose of the book of Deuteronomy was for Moses to give the people of Israel instructions, guidance, and encouragement so they could go forward, fully embrace the promises of God, and to then live their best lives as God had planned for them. In the ongoing process of moving from where they were to where God wanted them to be, the people of God needed this kind of prodding.
 
In “The Swindoll Study Bible” pastor Chuck Swindoll offered this insightful and helpful observation: “We all need our own Deuteronomies – regular reminders and warnings. The pastor of every church has the responsibility to caution, to instruct, to remind, and to reaffirm God’s truth for the sake of the flock. Each of us does this for one another as well. We reiterate the truth about God’s care for us and about what He expects from us. Like Moses and the people of Israel, we remember, we recollect, and we restate our trust in Him. Doing this helps us to be thankful for what God has done, and to be prepared for what is to come.”
 
An important part of our ongoing process of being sanctified involves finding good teachers of God’s Word, reliable pastoral counselors, and faithful brothers and sisters who will speak truth to us and hold us accountable. Then we must be teachable. We must be willing to listen, learn, and grow.
 
As was noted in yesterday’s devotional, this ongoing process of being sanctified is a slow process that unfolds progressively over a lifetime. It does not happen quickly, and usually not in big leaps. It is slow and steady, and it happens as a result of the ministry of the preachers, teachers, writers, counselors, and friends God has brought into our lives. He has placed them in our lives for our benefit, so we can learn and grow. But they only benefit us if we take advantage of what they offer.
 
The people of Moses’ day had to choose to listen, read, learn, and obey, and so do we. We need good sermons, deep Bible studies, helpful books, inspiration devotionals, and good counselors to keep us on track. We all need our own Deuteronomies.
 
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

You are not microwavable

Good morning everyone,
 
Our theme for this month: “Sanctification”
 
Our Bible verse for today: “Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea …” Deuteronomy 1:2 (CSB)
 
Our thought for today: “You are not microwaveable”
 
Deuteronomy 1:2 is commentary from Moses reminding the people that as the crow flies, their journey from captivity in Egypt to their new life in the Promised Land could have been accomplished in only eleven days. Instead, it took forty years. Why? Why did God keep them wandering in the wilderness for forty years when He could have brought them straight there in only eleven days? The answer is because they needed forty years to become people who were ready to possess the Promised Land. God spent those forty years purifying, molding, and shaping them into the people they needed to be so they would be ready to receive the promises of God.
 
Something similar is occurring in our own lives with respect to the middle stage of the sanctification process. It is the stage known as progressive sanctification and the very definition of “progressive” means that the change comes slowly, sequentially, steadily, over an extended period-of-time.
 
In the moment of salvation God could have instantly turned you into the perfected saint you will be for all eternity. But that would have circumvented the learning and growing that occurs as you are molded and shaped over time, and it would have required nothing of you. You would not have had to demonstrate your love for God or your desire to know Him better by engaging in the practices of discipleship. We appreciate our sanctification more when we have some skin in the game – when we have made the effort and done the hard work to learn, serve, and grow day-by-day over a sustained period of years.
 
Some of you are old enough to remember the comedian, Joan Rivers. She once did a skit on a television comedy show which was designed to spoof the impatience of modern Americans. In the skit she was cooking an instant meal in a microwave. But she was so impatient that she stood there tapping her foot, drumming her fingers on the counter, and finally she shouted at the microwave, “Hurry up!”
 
We Christians are sometimes like that with respect to the process of sanctification. We want microwave results, and we’re impatient for it. But God is not in a hurry, and the process of sanctification is much more like a good meal cooked slowly in a slow-cooker than it is like an instant meal in a microwave.
 
So, relax. This takes time. Invest the time and effort needed each day – for weeks and months and years, to continue placing yourself in a position before God every day whereby the Holy Spirit can slowly and progressively mold you and shape you into the person God is making you into.
 
Sorry, but you are not microwavable.
 
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

Maybe you should renew your vows

Good morning everyone,
 
Our theme for this month: “Sanctification”
 
Our Bible verse for today: “But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.” Revelation 2:4-5 (CSB)
 
Our thought for today: “Maybe you should renew your vows”
 
Over our forty-seven years together, Linda and I had the good fortune to have a relationship that grew deeper and better with the passing years. That was especially true in the last seventeen years of her life after she had a stroke and brain surgery and she began a long, slow decline in both mental and physical health. The challenges those health issues presented for us were sometimes immense, but in some respects those seventeen years were the best years of our marriage. We were closer and leaned on each other more than ever before.
 
Not all marriage relationships get better with time. Sadly, in many cases, the relationship is neglected and allowed to grow stale, or worse, it becomes hostile and combative. To prevent or correct that, many couples at some point renew their marriage vows and then put extra focus and effort into nurturing the relationship. The idea is to restore and renew the relationship, even bringing it to greater depths of love and devotion.
 
What’s true of a marriage relationship is also true of our relationship with God. If we don’t guard it and nurture it, it will wither and maybe even die. But if we do value that relationship, and if we treat it as the precious thing that it is, it will flourish and grow, developing into something deep and rich. So, just as couples often renew their marriage vows, Christians need to renew their vow to follow Jesus as a serious disciple. That’s what the Lord is calling for in Revelation 2:4-5.
 
At Oak Hill Baptist Church we keep a large cross mounted on a wooden platform on our stage. On that platform there is a pile of medium-sized stones. Each of those stones was placed there by someone as a symbol of a burden they were releasing to the Lord and leaving at the foot of the cross, or as a commitment they were making to Him. The stone is a visible tangible reminder of a significant encounter with God regarding something that was deeply important to the person who placed the stone, and some of those stones represent renewed vows.
 
Since we have just begun a new year, many of us have been thinking about New Years resolution for 2024. May I suggest you consider renewing your vows with Jesus and then spend 2024 making an extra effort to nurture that relationship? As we learned in a previous devotional in this series, there is nothing you can do that will have a more positive and lasting impact in your life than to grow in your relationship with 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.


Our mailing address is:
Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571

God wants to do something new in your life

Good morning everyone,
 
Our theme for this month: “Sanctification”
 
Our Bible verse for today: “Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19 (CSB)
 
Our thought for today: “God wants to do something new in your life”
 
I remember a time many years ago (in a different church than I am the pastor of now), we had a guest speaker on a Sunday morning. He preached a great message about how God wants to do something new in each of our lives. And He will do it, if we will just cooperate with Him and do our part. It was a lesson that I had taught numerous times and in various ways over a period of years in that same church.
 
After the service one of our members commented to me that the message really touched his heart and that he was going to make the changes the speaker suggested. Then he said, “Pastor, how come we’ve never been told this before? I would have made these changes sooner if somebody had told me this.” When he said that I was incredulous. I remember thinking “Dude! I’ve taught that same lesson here probably a hundred times! He teaches it once and now suddenly you get it and you’re all excited about it?” What that young man was expressing was the truth of the old saying that “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.”
 
The truths of God are always available and the promises of God are always operative. The problem isn’t if God is ready to teach you, but if you are ready to learn. God has new things He wants to teach you, new things He wants you to experience. They’re not new in the sense that God has just created them. In that respect they’re actually old – the truths and promises of God have existed for thousands of years since God spoke them in Scripture. But they’re new to you because you haven’t learned them yet.
 
In Isaiah 43:19 we’re reading about God speaking to the people of Israel. God had something new and better planned for them and if they were ready to go, He was ready to take them. The same is true in your life. God has new and better things planned for you in 2024. Spiritually there are things He wants to teach you and show you, and there are new experiences He wants you to have. The question is if you want them and if you will do your part to seek them out.
 
One of my favorite quotes about this comes from author Jim Peterson in his great book, “Lifestyle Discipleship.” Jim writes, “One of the greatest gifts God has given us is the infinite opportunity for spiritual growth. But however much we have matured, there is always more beyond. It is in this that we find the adventure of living. There will always be new, unexplored dimensions of His person beckoning to us. The possibilities go off the chart.”
 
This is what the process of sanctification accomplishes in our lives. It is God always leading us to something new, something better – a larger, deeper, expanded experience of Himself. Do you want that? Are you ready for it? Will you do your part to seek it? The fact is that God wants to do something new in your 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

You just do it

Good morning everyone,
 
Our theme for this month: “Sanctification”
 
Our Bible verse for today: “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping your word. I have sought you with all my heart; don’t let me wander from your commands.” Psalm 119:9-10 (CSB)
 
Our thought for today: “You just do it”
 
How do you do your part in the process of sanctification? How do you place yourself daily in a position before the Holy Spirit whereby He has free access to your heart and mind and can therefore mold and shape you into the person God wants you to be? To borrow a phrase from the old Nike commercial, “Just do it.” That’s all, just do it. Make a plan, resolve to stick to it, and then do it.
 
Serious discipleship involves things like daily quiet time sitting before the Lord; prayer; Bible study; worship with your church family; serving in ministry activities; fellowship with other Christians; Scripture memorization; fasting; and more. There are dozens of ways to incorporate the practice of your faith into your daily life. We will consider more of them throughout this month.
 
The point is not so much how you pray, or which version of the Bible you use, or which church you are a member of, or whether you listen to traditional or contemporary Christian music, or any of the other numerous ways to practice your faith. What matters is that you just do it.
 
Take a moment and open your Bible to Psalm 119 and read verses 9-16. Be sure you don’t miss the tone of determined intentionality the writer expressed. He used phrases like “I will keep your word.” “I have sought you with all of my heart.” “I have treasured your word.” “With my lips I proclaim.” “I rejoice.” “I will mediate.” “I will think about your ways.” “I will delight in your statutes.” “I will not forget.”
 
Resolved. Determined. Intentional. This was a man with a plan and nothing was going to stop him from walking it out. He would be where he was supposed to be, doing what he was supposed do. He would get up in the morning to pray and study. If the church was gathering, he would be there. He would find opportunities to minister and to bless others in the name of the Lord. He would sing God’s praises.
 
This is how you do it. You make a plan, your resolve to stick with it, and then you just do it.
 
As was noted in yesterday’s devotional, nothing else will make as big a difference in your life, nothing else will bring about as much positive and helpful change, as will the practice of serious discipleship. Your part in this process of sanctification – of being transformed into the person God wants you to be, is to be a serious disciple of Jesus. It’s not rocket science and it’s not especially difficult. You simply make a plan and then you stick to it. You just do 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

Nothing will make a bigger difference than this

Good morning everyone,
 
Our theme for this month: “Sanctification”
 
Our Bible verse for today: “How happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk according to the Lord’s instructions! Happy are those who keep his decrees and seek him with all their heart.” Psalm 119:1-2 (CSB)
 
Our thought for today: “Be sure to do your part”
 
Have you made some New Years resolution for 2024? I hope you have. I’m a big fan of them. I think it’s a good and healthy practice to take stock of our lives at the end of the old year, honestly assess how we did, and then set some goals to accomplish meaningful things in the new year. Often those resolutions pertain to things like losing weight and exercising more; or perhaps they are financial goals; or educational; or maybe you will resolve to work less overtime and spend more time with your family. We should always be in the process of striving to change and grow and to improve in some area of life.
 
Will Foster preached a great New Years sermon about this last Sunday at Oak Hill Baptist Church. I encourage you to watch it by going to our YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville. The guidance Will offered regarding resolutions and goals pertained to something much more important than physical fitness and the bottom line in your bank account. He encouraged us to set goals and to have a plan for spiritual growth in 2024. In short, the sermon was about the process of sanctification and the personal responsibility of each follower of Jesus to engage in serious discipleship.
 
No change in your life will have a greater and more positive impact, or produce more important and meaningful results, than will intentional serious discipleship. This is your part in the process of sanctification. The Holy Spirit will produce the results, but you need to do your part by showing up. You must establish a pattern in your life whereby you intentionally and consistently place yourself in a position before the Holy Spirit so He has full access to your mind and heart, and He can therefore mold you and shape you into the person God wants you to be.
 
In Psalm 119:1-2 the psalmist wrote about the joy such a lifestyle produces. This is what the Apostle Paul was also referring to in Galatians 5:22-23 when he wrote that the fruit the Holy Spirit brings out in the lives of serious disciples is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Bigger biceps and a smaller waistline won’t do that for you. More money in your bank account won’t do it. It’s the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a serious disciple who produces that kind of inner peace and joy. No other goal you set or resolution you make for 2024 has the potential to change you in positive ways like the practice of serious discipleship will.
 
We will continue our thinking about this tomorrow by considering a little more of what the writer of this Psalm had to say about his own practice of discipleship.
 
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