Good morning everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Heaven”   Our Bible verse for today: “On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine – the best of meats and the finest of wines.” Isaiah 25:6 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “Feasting gives us a taste of heaven”   The Bible gives us hundreds of examples of God’s people gathering for feasting and celebrating, both now in this lifetime and in eternity. In the reference above, from Isaiah 25:6, the prophet was picturing a time in the future, when the kingdom of God has been fully established. Almighty God Himself prepares a great feast for “all people,” evidently gathered from across the world and across the ages. This is eternity and it is similar to the scene we find depicted in Matthew 22 and Revelation 19.   In Luke 14:15-24, Jesus painted a picture of God sending out messengers far and wide to bring people from all places and all walks of life into the great banquet hall to participate in the feasting and celebrating. Matthew 8:11 and Luke 13:29 tell us that the people at the feast in that day are from the north and south, the east and the west. In others words, they come from everywhere. And to model that for us, in Luke 15:27-31 we find Jesus participating in such a feast and doing so with people the religious leaders considered to be “tax collectors and sinners”.   My point here is that feasting and celebrating by the people of God, in this lifetime and in eternity, is a well-established Biblical tradition, and it is done for many reasons. For one thing, God loves to see His children happy and joyful, celebrating, and enjoying all the good gifts and bountiful provisions He has so generously provided. But also, such joyful times of celebrating and feasting are a glimpse of heaven. When we gather like that now, we are acting out what will be true for us then.   This Sunday the people of Oak Hill Baptist Church will gather after the morning service for a time of feasting and celebrating. It will be a post-Thanksgiving, pre-Christmas potluck lunch complete with ham, turkey, chicken and dumplings, and all the sides, fixings, and desserts that are always present at such church feasts. It will be a fun time of feasting and fellowship. If you are close to Cumberland County Tennessee, please join us! Sunday school is at 9:00, the worship service will begin at 10:00, and the feast will be at 11:00. It will be a little taste of heaven.   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 © 2023 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: “Heaven”   Our Bible verse for today: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:1-6 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “Forever thankful”   I love Psalm 23. Of all the Psalms, this is my favorite. It paints a beautiful picture – told from the perspective of an individual sheep, of his or her personal experience of being well cared for by a kind, loving, and attentive shepherd. It speaks of provision, protection, guidance, peace, and renewal.   I also love the fact that the picture ends by extending the scene into eternity. Not only is the Lord my Shepherd now in this lifetime, but He continues to love me and care for me as we dwell together forever in heaven. The Psalm provides great comfort now and a bright promise for the future. We should be forever thankful.   On this Thanksgiving Day my family and I wish you and your family a happy and blessed Thanksgiving celebration. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever!” (1 Chronicles 16:34)   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 © 2023 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: “Heaven”   Our Bible verse for today: “The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat. The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf will be together; and a child will lead them. The cow and the bear will graze, their young ones will lie down together.” Isaiah 11:6-7 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Will our pets be in heaven?”   I’m pretty certain that the overwhelming majority of people are animal lovers – some of us passionately so. We love our pets, often treating them like they are members of the family. I know Linda and I do. For many years we have always had little lap puppies (a friend once called them my sissy dogs.) They have all weighed about eight pounds, they are soft and cuddly and very affectionate, and they are also loyal, loving, and they offer great emotional support.   I have an old friend who recently lost her husband to cancer. For more than a year she has been working through the long and difficult process of going on in life without him. Fortunately, she has dogs that fill her life with companionship and comfort. She also works as a volunteer at a pet rescue center. She has found that to be very helpful, which isn’t surprising. There’s a good reason that children’s hospitals and nursing homes bring support dogs in to visit with the patients. It’s because animals are comforting.   The question all of us animal lovers have is, “Will my pets be in heaven with me?” but the Bible doesn’t really say. We do know that there will be animals in the new creation. If the new earth is a perfect version of the old earth, and if the old earth included animals even before it included humans, then it is reasonable to conclude that there will be animals on the new earth. But will “my” animals be there? When I get to heaven will I be reunited with Duffy, Lady, Missy, Kiki, Roxy, and Melody the dogs, and with Snowball, Midnight, and Tommy the cats, and with Henry the duck? The Bible doesn’t say. I can only hope.   But let me turn the question around. Rather than wondering if God will include my specific pets in my experience of eternity, a better question might be “Why would He not include them for me?” Even in this lifetime we know that God loves to give good gifts to His children (Matthew 7:11). It pleases the heart of God to give us things that bring us joy. Well, the whole idea of the new earth is to provide His children with an eternity of bliss, and if animals are going to be there anyway, is it too much of a stretch to conclude that perhaps “my” animals will be there for me?   Will Fluffy the dog be in heaven? I can’t say for sure, but it won’t surprise me at all if he is.   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 © 2023 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: “Heaven”    Our Bible verse for today: “Now, this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “A free sample of heaven”   In yesterday’s devotional we considered the fact that in eternity we will live with God and have fellowship with Him, in the same way Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden. It will be intensely personal for each of us. We will see and experience God fully, as He really is. That’s what we have to look forward to then.   But what about now? Don’t we also get to know and experience God now? And if the answer to that is “yes,” then isn’t that a little taste of heaven? When we experience God now, in a limited way, isn’t He really giving us a little taste of the fuller experience we have waiting for us in eternity?   In John chapter 17 Jesus prayed a long and powerful prayer that is worthy of deep study. In verse 3 He identified for us what eternal life is: it is to know God. But knowing God isn’t just a promise for the future, it’s also a gift for the present. The truth that God wants to be known by His people; that He wants to be heard and understood; and that He wants us to experience Him; is a well-established fact. It’s the reason He sent Jesus to earth and it’s the reason He gave us the Bible. On Sunday nights this Fall at Oak Hill Baptist Church we have been conducting the Bible study, “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God” by Henry Blackaby. It’s a powerful study that goes a long way towards helping Christians to more fully experience God now, in this lifetime. You don’t have to wait until you get to heaven.   Here in my neighborhood in Fairfield Glade, TN we have a Food City grocery store. It’s a very nice store that is upscale, clean, well-stocked with high quality products, and the customer service is exceptional. I enjoy shopping there. It’s one of those stores that always offers free samples of products they are featuring in the bakery, or the deli, of the Starbucks, or in various locations around the store. The object of the free sample is to give you a little taste of the product so that you will want more and buy the product.   Sometimes I see customers taking multiple free samples, then move on to the next station and taking several more, and then on to the next free sample station and doing it again, but never purchasing any of the actual products. I’m pretty sure that is circumventing the purpose of the free samples and I’m not sure the store appreciates that.   But with God it’s different.  Here on earth, right now, God gives us free samples of close fellowship with Himself and we’re welcome to as much of it as we want. It’s just a taste of what we have waiting for us in heaven, and it does make us want more. So, in the case of experiencing close fellowship with God, you are more than welcome to take all the free samples you want and then by all means, come back for more! It’s a little taste of heaven.   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 © 2023 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: “Heaven”   Our Bible verse for today: “Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: ‘Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God.” Revelation 21:3 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “It is a return to Eden”   What’s being described in Revelation 21:3 is a return to Eden. The new earth has been created and evidently it is a perfect version of the old earth, and this verse tells us that God will reside there with us.   This takes us back to the beginning chapters of Genesis when Adam and Eve were in paradise (Eden) and God was there with them, walking with them, having personal -face-to-face time with them. What was lost in the beginning chapters of Genesis is now restored in the closing chapters of Revelation.   Does this indicate some kind of heaven on earth relationship? Is it possible that the new heaven, the new earth, and the new Jerusalem are all together, in a single creation, and we move freely and easily between them?  Such an arrangement would be consistent with what we have always believed about eternity in heaven – that we will be in the presence of God wherever God is. If the new earth is essentially heaven on earth, and if that is where God lives with His people, then we literally have the best of both worlds. It would turn out that eternity is spent in a perfect earth consisting of much of what makes up the old earth, but without the taint of sin.   Again, this is speculation, but it is speculation grounded in Biblical truth. When we take the clues that God has given us in the Bible and we put them all together like the pieces of a puzzle, a picture does emerge. This is precisely why God gave us these bits and pieces – so that we can have some understanding of what He has waiting for us.   For thousands of years mankind has wondered if we will ultimately return to Eden. Poems, songs, books, and plays have been written about it. Well, I think what is picture in Revelation 21-22 is that we will return to Eden. It will be heaven on earth.   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 © 2023 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: “Heaven”   Our Bible verse for today: “…the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now.” Romans 8:21-22 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “A perfect world for perfect people.”   We already know that we humans are under the curse of sin, and it shows. It shows in our bodies (which age, get sick, and die); it shows in the things we do to ourselves and to others; and it shows in the way we treat the earth. For thousands of years this planet has been ravaged by man’s sinfulness in terms of the pollution we create, and the wasteful the way in which we use precious resources such as water, timber, soil, and more. We also see the way the creation suffers by the way humans treat animals. Two hundred years ago the buffalo and beaver populations were almost wiped out in this country. This mistreating of animals by humans is also seen in things like dog-fighting contests.   In Romans 8:21-22 Paul writes that the entire creation has been groaning under the weight of sin and the destructive impact it has had. Just as our physical bodies ache and groan because of the effects of sin, so does the earth. And just as we are looking forward to a new, resurrection body, the day is coming when the earth will be resurrected into something new and better. Pastor John Piper wrote:   “God promises that the glory of his people will demand a glorious creation to live in. So the fallen creation will obtain the very freedom from futility and evil and pain that the church is given. So when God makes all things new, he makes us new spiritually and morally, he makes us new physically, and then he makes the whole creation new so that our environment fits our perfected spirits and bodies.”   That last statement is insightful and we need to spend a moment with it: “… he makes the whole creation new so that our environment fits our perfected spirits and bodies.” In other words, Piper believes (and I agree) that the environment of the new earth will be the place where we will spend eternity. Our new perfected bodies will be in the new perfected earth.   But what then of the new heaven and the new Jerusalem? And what about God, where is He? Those are good questions and we will attempt to answer them tomorrow.   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 © 2023 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: “Heaven”   Our Bible verse for today: “He then carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, arrayed with God’s glory.” Revelation 21:10-11 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “The new Jerusalem”   In his very helpful book “Heaven” author Randy Alcorn poses the question, “After all, where do we expect physically resurrected people to live if not in a physical environment?” He wrote that in reference to the apparently physical environment God creates for us in the new heaven and the new earth. We have already learned that our resurrection bodies will have both spiritual and physical qualities to them – similar to Jesus’ resurrection body. And we have read of how God describes the new heaven and the new earth in very physical terms, with buildings and streets, water and trees, people and animals.   To complete His new creation, in addition to the new heaven and the new earth, God also creates a new Jerusalem. An angel showed it to John and had him record it in Revelation 21:9-27. As we read this passage, we realize two things: first, the new Jerusalem is the crown jewel of the new creation. Second, it too is described for us in very concrete, physical terms. Once again, we are told of walls, gates, streets, and stones. Beyond that, we are even given the exact measurements of the city – and it is truly astounding. We are told that it is laid out in “human measurement” and it is a “12,000 stadia” square – a cube.   12,000 stadia is estimated to be the equivalent of 1,400 miles. Randy Alcorn did the math for us. 1,400 miles in length and width would stretch from Canada to Mexico, and from the Appalachian Mountains to California – nearly two million square miles. That is ten times bigger than France or Germany, and forty times bigger than England – and that’s just the ground floor. Since it is a cube, that means it is also 1,400 miles in height. If you allow for 12 feet per story, that would be over 600,000 stories high. In such a city there will be room for billions of people.   Although the dimensions given to us in Revelation 21:9-27 could be figurative rather than literal, they do nevertheless convey the fact that the New Jerusalem will be immense. There will be plenty of room for a whole lot of people.   So, now God’s new creation is complete. We have a new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem. They all exist at the same time, in the same creation, and they are all intended to be used and occupied by God’s people. But in what ways? If they are three distinct parts of the new creation, which one do we live in? Do we come and go between the three? And for what purposes?   You’re probably thinking the Bible doesn’t answer those questions directly, and you would be right, but do we have some clues? Well, let’s see …   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 © 2023 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: “Heaven”   Our Bible verse for today: “Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” Revelation 21:5 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Words have meaning”   I want to emphasize again that words have meaning, and God chooses His words carefully, intentionally. The descriptive words and phrases He used in the Bible were chosen for a reason. They are intended by God to help us grasp a divine reality by relating it to something similar that we are already familiar with.     That’s true with respect to helping us gain some understanding of what our eternal existence will be like. When God describes the new heaven and the new earth, He does so by comparing them to the old heaven and the old earth. The understanding is that the new heaven and the new earth will be similar to the old heaven and the old earth but different, similar but better.   We see this all throughout the final chapters of the book of Revelation. In chapters twenty-one and twenty-two God used descriptive terms like walls, gates, cities, buildings, streets, dwellings, jewels, light, water, rivers, trees. In other places in both the Old and New Testaments we are given scenes of animals, such as lions and lambs existing peacefully. There are also descriptions of great feasts (a heavenly Hometown Buffet?), along with singing, dancing, and so much more. Those are all things we are already familiar with. Evidently the new heaven and the new earth will be similar but better.   Why would God consistently paint pictures of eternity for us that look amazingly like this life that we already know and enjoy, unless it was like this life that we already know and enjoy? In a previous devotional I joked about the line in the song that “Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go now.” The reason that is true of us is because there is so much about this life that we enjoy, and we want to stay here as long as we can and continue enjoying it.   But what if life in eternity is like life on earth, only perfect? Maybe it will be a return to Eden, but Eden as it would have been if sin had never entered the world to begin with. What if sin had never entered the world, and Adam and Eve had been able to procreate and develop the world in a perfect state of fellowship with God? What would that have looked like after thousands of years of perfect development?   When sin is no more, and the effects of sin have all been washed away, and there is a new heaven and a new earth, will God’s highest form of creation (people) finally be back in Eden, or in an Eden-like eternity? I’m speculating here, of course, but words have meaning, and God chose His words carefully and intentionally. What might He be trying to tell us? We will think more about this tomorrow.   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 © 2023 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: “Heaven”   Our Bible verse for today: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” Revelation 21:1 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Similar but different”   It’s important to remember that when we speak of heaven there are two different heavens being referred to. There is heaven as it exists now, and then there is heaven as it will exist for eternity. Likewise, in the Bible there are two earths referred to. There is earth as we know it now, and then there will be a new earth that will exist for eternity and which will be closely tied to the new heaven. The current earth and the new earth, and the current heaven and the new heaven, are similar but different   In Revelation 21:1 the Apostle John reveals that when everything is said and done – in other words, when the rapture occurred, the seven-year tribulation unfolded, the second coming of Christ happened, the battle of Armageddon was fought and won, Satan was cast into the abyss for a thousand years, the saints reigned with Christ in the millennial kingdom on earth, and the Great White Throne Judgment was held – when all of that has happened, the age of human history will have finally drawn to a close. It is at that point that Jesus creates a new heaven and a new earth that will exist for all eternity, and that is where we will spend eternity – in a new heaven and a new earth.   There is a lot about the new heaven and the new earth that we cannot and will not understand until that day. In fact, I think we will spend the rest of eternity exploring and enjoying those new realities. But there are some things we can know now about what it will be like then, and we will spend the rest of this month considering what those things are.   For starters, we need to note that God chose to describe those two new realities as the new heaven and the new earth. Remember, words have meaning and God chooses His words carefully and intentionally. He could have told us that our eternal existence will be so new and so different that there simply are no human words to describe it. But He didn’t do that. Instead, He chose to use two words that already have meaning to us and which will help us to gain at least a limited understanding of what it will be like for us then. We do have some concept in our mind of what the intermediate heaven will is like (a paradise; in the presence of the Lord; each of us identifiable as the people we were in this life; etc.) And, we know what earth is like.   So, since God chose to use those two descriptive terms (heaven and earth) to help us gain some limited understanding of what eternity will be like, we need to consider the new heaven and the new earth in light of what we already know about the old heaven and the old earth. We will do that in the days to come.   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 © 2023 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: “Heaven”   Our Bible verse for today: “Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I, myself!” Luke 24:39 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Will you be you in heaven?”   Will you be you in heaven? Buddhism teaches that the ultimate goal in the afterlife is for our lifeforce to be absorbed into the energy field of the universe and we cease to exist as an individual at all. That is supposedly Nirvana, ceasing to exist at all. Hinduism teaches that you will be reincarnated into a new life, based upon how you lived in this one. That could be good or bad, depending on how you lived. You could end up as a famous billionaire in the next life, or as a tadpole in a mud puddle … it all depends.   But intuitively I think we all know that there is life after death and that there is a heaven and it is good. And not only that, but we will continue to exist in a form in which we are identifiable as the person we were in this life. The Bible confirms this for us. As we read in Luke 24:39, the resurrected Jesus was visibly identifiable as the person He had been in this life.  Also, in Luke 16:19-31, Jesus told the story of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar. They both died and went to their eternal destinies – the rich man to Hades and Lazarus to the intermediate heaven. Both were identifiable for who they had been in life, and Jesus even called Lazarus by name.   In Matthew 17:3, on the Mount of Transfiguration, the long-dead Moses and Elijah came back from the afterlife to make an appearance on earth to the human Jesus, and they were both clearly identifiable for who they had been in life. In 1 Samual 28:14, when the Old Testament King Saul consulted the witch of Endor and had her conjure up the spirit of Samuel so Saul could consult with him, Samuel too was identifiable for who he had been in life. And in 2 Samuel 12:23, when David was mourning the death of his infant son, he noted that although he would not see the baby again in this lifetime, he would see him one day in heaven (the implication was that he would know the baby for who he had been in this life.)   So, will you be you? Yes, you will be. You will be you and I will be me, and we will know each other. The other part of this good news is the fact which has already been considered in previous devotionals in this series, that by then we will all be perfected individuals, conformed to the image of Christ and transformed into the people God has always wanted us to be.   So, yes, you will be you and I will be me, and we will all know each other for who we were in this 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 © 2023 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571