Good morning, everyone,   Our theme for this month: “Live long, live well”   Our Bible verse for today: “God sets the lonely in families …” Psalm 68:6 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “You’re welcome in the cool kids club”   My son Rick was bipolar from an early age. In those days we didn’t know it, we only knew that he was different and that he struggled with social interaction and building relationships. That was especially true in high school. He tried to fit in. He joined the chess club and the debate team. He went to dances and football games and other special events. But he would often come home frustrated and in exasperation he would say, “Some day I’m going to figure out how to get into the cool kids club.”   He hung onto that phrase and throughout his adult life, whenever he accomplished something of significance, like graduating from college, he would jokingly say, “Well, maybe now they’ll let me into the cool kids club.”   In middle age Rick finally found the acceptance he had been searching for his whole life. He moved from Los Angeles, CA to Crossville, TN and he joined us at Oak Hill Baptist Church. There he found a church family that welcomed him and loved him. He would sometimes joke that he had finally made it into the cool kids club. I think he was right – but only in a limited way. Oak Hill Baptist is a great place filled with a lot of great people but as good as it is, it is still only a shadow of the real thing in heaven.   Sadly, Rick died at the age of only fifty-five. He had suffered from a long list of serious health problems for many years and finally one day, he had a heart attack and died suddenly. I preached his funeral and I told the story of “the cool kids club” and how it is that Rick found love and acceptance as a member of a good church family. I also told them I’m certain that in the moment Rick’s spirit left his physical body and entered heaven, Jesus was standing there with a big smile and arms opened wide, and He said, “Rick! Welcome to the cool kids club!”   Heaven is the real cool kids club. But until then, as Psalm 68:6 teaches, a good church family is the best substitute you will find here on earth. And as we learned in yesterday’s devotional, being active in a good church is a key element for living well and being happy.   I encourage you to be involved in the full life of a good church. And if you don’t have a church home, and if you are close to Cumberland County, TN, then I invite you to visit with us at Oak Hill Baptist. I promise you will be made to feel welcomed.   God bless, Pastor Jim    (If you like what you are 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 © 2026 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: “Live long, live well”   Our Bible verse for today: “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go up to the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:2 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Going to church is good for you”    In his book “Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest” Dan Buettner and his team searched the world-over and found clusters of people in widely different locations where a high percentage of the population lived long and lived well. They studied those population groups and discovered that they all had certain things in common which seemed to contribute to the quality and longevity of their lives.   Out of the results of their research Dan and his team then developed a list of suggestions we can all adopt that will improve the quality of our lives in the immediate short term, but which will also increase the likelihood of living longer as well as better. In the days to come we will think about each of those suggestions.   The lesson from their research that I personally believe is by far the most important and most helpful is being part of a healthy community of faith. The people in Buettner’s population groups practiced many different faiths but the positive impact on overall health and longevity was similar. They found that:   “Healthy centenarians everywhere have faith … The simple act of worship is one of those subtly powerful habits that seems to improve your chances of having more good years.”   “Studies have shown that attending religious services – even as infrequently as once a month – may make a difference in how long a person lives. A recent study in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior followed 3,617 people for seven and a half years and found that those who attended religious services at least once a month reduced their risk of death by about a third.”   “It appears that people who pay attention to their spiritual side have lower rates of cardiovascular disease, depression, stress, and suicide, and their immune systems seem to work better. Put generally, the faithful are healthier and happier.”   Strong faith that is held deeply and practiced faithfully is an essential element in living long and living well. Additionally, it is essential that that faith be practiced within the context of a healthy community of like-minded people. Tomorrow we will think more about how it is that being part of a good church family makes life better.   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you are 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 © 2026 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: “Live long, live well”   Our Bible verse for today: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Who’s your buddy?”   We live in a society today that is not conducive to staying healthy – physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. For one thing, food is everywhere and much of it is bad for us. Through manipulative advertising and subliminal messaging, we are conditioned to overeat. We are also set up for inactivity. Machines and computers and service industry people do many of our tasks and much of our labor for us. Also, much of our entertainment is sedate and inactive (television, video games).   Ours is also a mentally and emotionally unhealthy society. We have a larger percentage of our population suffering from depression, insomnia, and other lifestyle related mental health issues than almost any other developed nation in the world. We also have a larger percentage of people taking prescription medication to deal with their depression and anxiety. And we are becoming increasingly unhealthy spiritually. Church attendance is at an all-time low and there is great spiritual confusion in our land.   So, how do we stay healthy? We must be very intentional about it and we must help each other. In Isaiah 41:10 God made a promise that He will be with us and that He will be the one to help us and strengthen us. But in what ways does He do that? First, He does it one-on-one in our inner person. Deep inside He gives us renewed determination and a strong sense of encouragement. But that’s not all. In addition to His one-on-one work in our lives, God does some of His best work by using other Christians to help us.   God will use us to help each other stay healthy physically, mentally/emotionally, and spiritually. Physically, we do that by having one or more workout buddies who will help us stay motivated and on track. Emotionally, we need Christian friends who we can confide in and who will help to talk us through our mental and emotional struggles. And spiritually we need to be practicing our faith along with other Christians through Bible study and prayer groups, Sunday school classes, and corporate worship services.   God will be your source of help and strength, but very often He will provide that help and strength by bringing other Christians into your life to be your buddies. Are you surrounding yourself with others who will help you, or are you trying to go it alone?   I ask you this morning, “Who’s your buddy? Who are you relying on to help you live your best life?”   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you are 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 © 2026 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: “Live long, live well”   Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, since we also have such a large crowd of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith.” Hebrews 12:1-2 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Never, never, never give in or give up”   This morning, I want us to continue thinking about our topic from yesterday about never giving up. Winston Churchill was known to be irascible, hard-boiled, and difficult. He was also often caustic in his manner, and he had a drinking problem. But the man was tough and courageous. He is most famous for serving as the Prime Minister of Great Britian during World War II. He successfully shepherded the country through the darkest days of the war and eventually on to victory.   In 1941, just as the war was intensifying and it looked like the Nazi war machine was unstoppable, and many in Great Britian feared that they might be conquered by Hitler, Churchill gave a speech intended to rally the nation. The most famous line in that speech was, “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in … Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”   Churchill inspired his nation to stand strong in the face of adversity, and eventually, after years of fighting, led them to victory. Likewise, I have had the privilege of knowing other people like that. My late wife Linda was one. We raised four children – the oldest two with significant disabilities. I had a busy and demanding career in the Navy and was gone much of the time, so Linda carried most of the load at home. As a couple we adopted a saying that we would repeat to each other often. When times were tough, we would look at each other and say something like, “This is hard, but that’s okay because we are resilient people.”   That mindset became especially significant for us in 2007 when Linda had a major stroke that almost took her life. Once we realized the extent of her disabilities, we also realized how significantly our lives were going to have to change. One day in the hospital she squeezed my hand and said, “Jim, we’re going to be okay. We are resilient people.” That was her attitude and because of that, she lived over sixteen more years. She just refused to give up.   I had a friend named Leon who had terminal cancer. But he was determined to fight it and to live as long as he could because, “I want every day on this earth that I can have with my wife, my children, and my friends.” Leon suffered, but he also lived. And despite the suffering, he enjoyed every day he had with his family and friends, right up until the end. He fought for life and he refused to give up.   I have known many other people who are physically large (tall and big-boned), and who therefore have struggled with weight problems their entire lives. But they continue to do their best, through diet and exercise, to maintain the best physical health they can. Again, a good attitude and refusing to give up is everything.   When it comes to staying as healthy as you can for as long as you can I join with Winston Churchill in encouraging you to, “Never, never, never, give in or give up.”   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you are 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 © 2026 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: “Live long, live well”   Our Bible verse for today: “Even to your old age and grey hairs, Jim, I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I will sustain you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” Isaiah 46:4 (The Bible according to Jim)   Our thought for today: “Never give up”   Those of you who know me well know that I’m a big fan of “life verses”. A life verse is a verse or passage of Scripture which speaks to you personally in a powerful way and which you hang onto and rely on for guidance and encouragement. Proverbs 3:5-6 is my primary life verse (passage). Matthew 11:28-30 is another. John 15:5 and Galatians 5:22-23 are two others. Isaiah 46:4 (which I have made a little more personal by inserting my name into it), is another that has become increasingly important to me as I have aged.   A key to living long and living well is strong faith and perseverance. It’s a matter of doing your best to do the right thing moment-by-moment, and then continuing to just walk it forward, step-by-step, day-by-day. Pastor and author Eugene Peterson once referred to it as “a long obedience in the same direction.”   But living that way requires strong faith in the goodness, watch-care, and provision of God. That’s especially true when we’re faced with trials and challenges, and it is especially true when we are attempting something that will take a long time to accomplish. You must lean into it, push forward, and just keep going.   That’s certainly true with respect to living long and living well. The longer you live the more challenges you will face. Also, the longer you live the more effort it will take to live well. Taking good care of yourself physically, mentally/emotionally, and spiritually requires daily and lifelong discipline. Doing so makes us strong and builds endurance for the long haul. Nineteenth-century preacher and author Smith Wigglesworth expressed it this way, “Great faith is a product of great fights. Great testimonies are the outcome of great tests. Great triumphs can only come out of great trials.”   Life is hard. Living it well and living it long requires discipline and perseverance. If we are going to one day get to the days of old age and grey hairs, and get there in relatively good shape, we will need to be walking closely with God, relying heavily on Him, and also doing our part to take proper care of ourselves moment-by-moment, and day-by-day.   My encouragement to all of us this morning is just do the next right thing – keep going and never give up!   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you are 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 © 2026 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: “Live long, live well”   Our Bible verse for today: “Don’t continue drinking only water, but use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.” 1 Timothy 5:23 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Take your medicine”   I believe medical science is a gift from God. I think healthcare professionals, investigative technologies, surgeries, therapies, and medicines contribute to much of God’s healing activity in our day. Oh sure, He still heals miraculously (probably more often than we realize), but in our day He also uses medical science to answer our prayers for healing and for longer life.   But we must take advantage of what He offers us. We must be willing to receive His chosen answer to our prayers and needs. Throughout the two months or our study on the theme “Live long, live well”, I have frequently referred to the work of Dr. Peter Attia and his team of researchers. In their book, “Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity”, the primary focus of their work was on prevention. It was about preventing or holding off the onset of disease as long as possible. As we have already learned, their research revealed that exercise, good nutrition, adequate sleep, and other lifestyle factors play the biggest role in staying healthy and active late into life.   Taking advantage of investigative technologies is another key. In our day we are blessed to have procedures like mammograms, colonoscopies, prostate exams, electrocardiograms, and other investigative techniques which help to detect the onset of disease so it can be addressed at the earliest possible stage. Those technologies are a gift, but they are only helpful to us if we use them.   Likewise, once disease has been detected we must be willing to take advantage of the procedures, therapies, and medicines that will treat it, possibly cure it, or at least beat it back. I had an uncle who died from lung cancer at the age of only forty-seven. They could have saved his life by removing the diseased lung, and that is what the doctors recommended, but my uncle was afraid of the surgery that would be required. So, he equivocated about it until it was too late, and then he died, unnecessarily, leaving a wife and six young children behind.   In 1 Timothy 5:23 the Apostle Paul counseled his young protégé Timothy to take a little wine to help deal with his persistent stomach problems. In those days wine served a medicinal purpose. So, Paul was essentially telling the young man, “Timothy, take your medicine.” Paul was such a big advocate of the medical science available in his day that he traveled with his own personal physician (Luke).   Medical science is a gift from God. That being the case, my advice to all of us this morning is “Take your medicine”. Use the gift that God has provided for you.   God bless, Pastor Jim    (If you like what you are 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 © 2026 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: “Live long, live well”   Our Bible verse for today: “A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.” Proverbs 22:3 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “Use some common sense”   There’s a fine line between being bold and being stupid, between being adventurous or taking unnecessary risks. God wants us to be bold and even adventurous, but He also wants us to use common sense at the same time.   Dr. J. Vernon McGee, known as “The Old Country Preacher”, once told the story of a young man he knew who was convinced God would protect him no matter what he did. The brash young man even said, “If I wanted to, I could go stand in the middle of the highway in front of a speeding truck, but if it wasn’t my God-appointed day to die, I would be just fine.” To that Dr. McGee replied, “My friend, if you go stand in front of a speeding truck, I can promise you it will be your day to die!”   Some years ago, I had a neighbor who was in his late 70s but very healthy and fit. I’ll call him Frank. Frank was healthy and fit but sometimes not so smart. He had the bad habit of doing things a man in his late 70s shouldn’t be doing – like climbing up on the roof, or lifting very heavy items by himself, or juggling chainsaws (just kidding). One day he decided to climb a tree in his backyard to cut down a large dead branch. The branch was located about 30 feet off the ground. While up there, Frank lost his balance, fell out of the tree, broke his back, and never recovered. His health rapidly deteriorated and that otherwise very healthy man died within a year after that accident.   I’m preaching to the choir here. In some respects, I’m like Frank. I’m older now, still active and able, but sometimes prone to pushing things a little too far by trying to do more than I really should. I know that to be true about myself and so I’m trying to use a little more common sense about such things.   The point is that like Abraham, Moses, Caleb, Joshua, John, and others in the Bible, God does want us to remain healthy, active, bold, and even adventurous as late into life as possible. But He also wants us to be smart. We should not take unnecessary risks.   One of the keys to living long and living well is knowing what’s okay, and how much is too much, when it comes to taking risks. There’s a balance that needs to be struck and as Solomon teaches in Proverbs 22:3, it requires a little common sense.   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you are 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 © 2026 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: “Live long, live well”   Our Bible verse for today: “But I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.” Psalm 55:16-17 (NIV)   Our thought for today: “Worry less, trust more”   This morning I have one more devotional thought about emotional health and controlling our emotions, and then we will move on to another aspect of living long and living well. Yesterday we considered the sage advice of British Prince Philip, “Stay calm and carry on”. Today we will consider the words of another Brit, British special forces operator and lifelong adventurer Bear Grylls. In his devotional book “Soul Fuel”, Bear shares devotional thoughts and Biblical principles that have been helpful to him throughout his extraordinary life, and which he frequently relies on. With respect to emotional self-control he wrote,   “Worry, as Corrie Ten Boom wrote, does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength. Life is so much harder to face when we worry. The answer is not trying to find a problem-free life. No one goes through life without facing problems, battles, and causes for worry. What matters is how we deal with them.”   That’s the key right there, “how you deal with them.” Do you allow thoughts about your problems to consume you? Do you worry and fret, allowing yourself to get anxious and stressed about things you have little control over?   King David was a man who faced more and bigger challenges than most of us. Psalm 55 is one of the many Psalms he wrote about how he dealt with those difficult situations. In the case of Psalm 55, he had evidently been betrayed by a close friend or maybe even a family member, and it was causing significant problems for him. So, he did cry out to God about it, maybe repeatedly, but then he left it there with God.   A little later in the Psalm David offered an additional insight that he had learned through hard-earned personal experience: “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you.” In what way will He sustain you? Perhaps He will supernaturally resolve the issue for you and just make it go away. But more often He will strengthen you to handle the trial with courage, dignity, and confidence – and He will help you to do it without being eaten up with anxiety and worry.   God does not want us to live at the mercy of our emotions, and He does not want us to live in a state of anxiety and worry. Instead, He wants us to be intentional about controlling our emotional state, and the primary way we do that, is by bringing it to Him and trusting Him to help us deal with it. The answer is to worry less and trust Him more.   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you are 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 © 2026 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: “Live long, live well”   Our Bible verse for today: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Stay calm and carry-on”   The late Prince Philip of England was a remarkable man. He was a hero in World War II and of course, he was then married to the Queen of England. Philip was known for his strength of character and his calm demeanor, the man could not be ruffled. That was especially true when he was faced with challenging and even dangerous situations. He was a rock. He lived by the philosophy of “Stay calm and carry-on”, and that’s what he expected of others as well. Philip was also a devout Christian. He also lived to the age of ninety-nine.   If you were to conduct a study of all the times and in all the ways the Bible instructs us as God’s people to live with calm, cool, confidence – courageous and without fear, trusting the Lord and refusing to give in to anxiety, you would be amazed. It’s a dominant theme throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. But that shouldn’t surprise us. Jesus told us in John 14:27 that He came to give us peace. In Matthew 11:28-30 He urged us to come alongside Him and to calmly and confidently walk through life with Him. Peter, one of Jesus’ closest disciples and eventually the leader of the early church urged us in 1 Peter 5:7 to cast all our cares on Jesus. Peter learned that through long and hard-earned personal experience.   In 2 Timothy 1:7 Paul paints a picture of calm and cool Christians who do not live in anxiety or fear. Paul was essentially echoing what God said to Joshua in Joshua 1:9, “Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”   What does all of this have to do with our study of living long and living well, and more specifically, to our current conversation in recent days about not living at the mercy of your emotions? God has called us to be people who are by nature calm, courageous, steady, reasoned, and reasonable. People who refuse to give in to emotionalism or to live in a state of edgy anxiety.   Why? Why does God call us to a life of cool confidence and steady emotions? Because that’s what’s best for us. People who are highly emotional tend to be edgy and anxious which creates a lot of stress – and sustained stress is a killer. Not only does it steal our joy in the moment, but high levels of sustained stress contribute to heart disease, poor sleep, overeating, and poor mental health, just to name a few. Living at the mercy of your emotions is a prescription for an unhappy and short life.   God wants you to learn to stay calm and carry-on. Walk closely with Jesus, cast all your cares on Him, lean on Him, and trust Him. People who have learned to stay calm and steady rather than being edgy and emotional tend to live better and to live longer than those who don’t.   God bless, Pastor Jim    (If you like what you are 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 © 2026 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: “Live long, live well”   Our Bible verse for today: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (CSB)   Our thought for today: “Don’t live at the mercy of your emotions”   Isaiah 41:10 is one of my favorite passages from the Old Testament. It paints a picture of a person who is stable and steady, confident and peaceful. The person is that way because they trust in and lean on the Lord. It reminds me of another Old Testament passage which is also from the pen of Isaiah. Isaiah 26:3 reminds us, “You will keep in perfect peace the one whose mind is stayed on you.”   That brings us back to what we were thinking about yesterday about learning to manage your emotional health by bringing your emotionally charged issues to the Lord in prayer and then leaving them with Him (Philippians 4:6-7). If we will do that then as Paul wrote, “The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.”   The spiritually mature Christian has control over his or her emotions. Theirs is a life that is steady and stable, calm and peaceful, with their emotions well under control. By contrast, if you live at the mercy of your emotions, you are in for a wild ride in life. Emotions tend to take us up and down and all around. Life becomes a rollercoaster of drama and exaggerated thinking (followed by exaggerated responses).   It has been rightly said that: “Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts can.” and “We suffer more in our imagination than in reality.” Unregulated emotions do that. Out of control emotions make everything seem bigger and worse than it is, and to borrow a phrase from the Apostle James, such a person is as unstable as water.   Good emotional health is a key factor in our health overall. Unregulated emotions create enormous stress and have a negative impact on every other part of us, including on our physical and spiritual health.  But God has given us Biblical principles which help us to master our emotions rather than living at the mercy of them. It’s critical that we follow Paul’s instruction in Philippians 4:6-7, and 4:8, and learn to control our emotions by committing those issues to the Lord and then truly leaving them with Him.   God never intended for you to live at the mercy of your emotions. It’s simply not healthy.   God bless, Pastor Jim   (If you like what you are 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 © 2026 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571